This year’s crop of NBA rookies has been underwhelming by traditional standards. There’s no bonafide star in the bunch, yet, though those few weeks of Jared McCain were a complete delight before he went down with a season-ending injury. But McCain aside, there hasn’t been a player capable of scoring in bunches, which is what we’re used to seeing from rookies in recent years. Instead there’s a bunch of young, raw talent that is going to take a few seasons to really develop.
There’s been a handful of players who have shown flashes, especially lately, but when you’re talking about awards like Rookie of the Year, it’s impossible to hand something out solely based off unseen potential. This will be the year where we see a player win it who may not have high counting stats, but impacts winning on a nightly basis in other ways. There’s still a bunch of time for someone to break through, but halfway through the season it doesn’t seem like we’re going to get a guy whose even capable of turning in nightly 20-point performances.
With half of the regular season in the books, let’s take stock of where the Rookie of the Year race stands.
The efficiency is still a concern for Risacher, because on the season he’s shooting just 41.4% from the field and 30.2% from deep. But Risacher’s impact extends beyond scoring, which is why his rookie campaign still stands out. He’s one of many lengthy, big wings the Hawks have to surround Trae Young, which covers up many of the star point guard’s defensive shortcomings. Risacher isn’t on the level of Jalen Johnson and Dyson Daniels, but he fits the prototype of those two, and could certainly reach that level in a few years.
Right now the important thing is that Risacher is doing enough of the little things to still make an impact. He’s not out of place on defense, or late in rotating over. He’s being trusted so much already that in two games he was tasked with guarding Kevin Durant for big chunks of the game. He’s not a lockdown defender, but he’s certainly capable of holding his own, and Risacher’s length mucks things up enough to come up with deflections and steals.
Risacher held his own against one of the greatest scorers to ever lace them up. It didn’t keep Durant from scoring 31 points, but it forced him into difficult shots on most occasions, and that’s all you can ask for from a rookie.
Risacher has great instincts on defense, and while his shot still isn’t falling on offense, it’s only a matter of time that part of his game syncs up.
There was an eight-game stretch a few weeks ago where Sarr averaged over 15 points a game, while shooting 50.6% from the field and 47.4% from deep. It showed tremendous growth from the No. 2 overall pick in last June’s draft, but also served as a perfect example of why it’s important to allow these rookies — and young players in general — to grow at their own pace. If there’s one thing this rookie class has taught us, it’s that not everything is going to come right away, and Sarr is the perfect example of that.
After going a combined 20-81 on 3-pointers (24.6%) from October through November, Sarr has been cooking from deep since December, going 35-91 from deep (38.4%) during that span. It’s not a matter of him having more confidence in that shot, he’s just seeing it going in more often now.
“I’m taking the same amount of 3s as before,” Sarr said via The Athletic. “The shots are just falling, I would say. Whether I was missing them or not the first month, I didn’t stop taking them.”
The confidence never wavered, but Sarr does look more comfortable out there on the floor offensively. His shooting looks more fluid, and there’s not as much hesitation when he’s making decisions.
The shooting was the last part of Sarr’s game to catch up, because he immediately showed how much of an impact he’s capable of making on the defensive side of the ball. The Wizards allow 5.7 fewer points per 100 possessions when Sarr’s on the floor, which ranks in the 89th percentile in the league.
It took a little time, but lately Sarr’s showing why he was taken so high in the draft.
Castle had a three-game stretch recently where he averaged 23 points on 54.2% from the field. He’s becoming a more consistent scorer, and is pairing that with quality defense. The defense has stood out from the beginning, as his size and frame make him capable of giving even the best guards a difficult time. But the offensive side of the ball has taken some time, though it appears as though Castle’s starting to hit his stride.
The 3-point shooting still isn’t where it should be, but he’s certainly getting a healthy amount of looks, the shots just aren’t falling right now. Castle wasn’t much of a 3-point shooter in his lone season at UConn either, so it’s going to take a while for that to develop. But from inside the arc, the rookie is showing off some quality playmaking skills. He can get to his spots with ease, using his speed and quickness to know when to decelerate, and he’s shown an ability to score off the bounce. If he finds an open lane he’s gone to the rim, and once there he’s not afraid to try and dunk on whoever is standing under the basket. (Which makes him a perfect fit for the 2025 NBA Slam Dunk Contest.)
The offensive improvements have been important, but Castle’s defense is still what stands out the most. Against the Heat, he was glued to Tyler Herro’s hip, something the Heat guard talked about after the game.
“He picked me up on the driveway,” Herro said jokingly. ‘When I got out of my car he was actually waiting on me.”
It’s all jokes, but Castle doesn’t shy away from tough assignments, and while he may not stop you from scoring every time, he’s going to make sure life is difficult.
Spurs rookie Stephon Castle, Bulls rookie Matas Buzelis commit to 2025 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, per reports
Jack Maloney
Edey has been one of the best rookies all season, and unless you’re watching the games you won’t understand how important he’s been for the Grizzlies. He’s been a cheat code in more ways than one, as his team-leading 7.3 rebounds is in part why the Grizzlies are the second-best rebounding team in the league. His 3.2 offensive boards have him tied for 11th most in the league, which plays right into the fact that Memphis ranks third in second-chance points.
Edey’s imposing size makes him difficult to keep off the glass, and he’s an obvious lob threat for the creative mind of Ja Morant. What’s really stood out as of late is Memphis clearly encouraging Edey to shoot the 3-ball when he has a good look. He’s gone 11 for 28 from beyond the arc (39.3%), which is a low sample size to make too much of a stink about, but we’re already starting to see the the impacts it’s having on how teams are defending him and the Grizzlies.
On some possessions we’ll see the Grizzlies go five-wide to spread the floor, drawing the opposing team’s big away from the basket and opening up the lane for the likes of Morant and Desmond Bane to drive to the rim. Against a team like the Spurs who employ the league-leader in blocks in Victor Wembanyama, that plan certainly worked, and on this occasion, it caused just enough chaos to give Edey enough room to cut to the rim for an easy dunk.
Just a few possessions later, the Grizzlies worked up practically the same play and it worked again. Wembanyama commits to the driving Jaren Jackson Jr., leaving Edey wide open for the dump off pass and another easy dunk
Not every team is respecting Edey’s 3-point shooting abilities yet — for example, the Timberwolves primarily had Rudy Gobert in drop coverage all night as Edey took up space out by the 3-point line. But if he starts making more than one 3-pointer a game, team’s won’t have any other choice but to get out there and guard him, which is going to open up so many more possibilities offensively for Memphis.
I don’t think we’ve fully grasped just how absurd it is that Wells is regularly tasked with guarding the opposing team’s best player as a rookie. He’s heavily relied upon on a team that currently sits third in the Western Conference. And it’s not as if he’s just thrown to the wolves to figure out how to swim, no Wells is making life hell for some of the league’s best scorers.
In two meetings against the Timberwolves, Wells was the primary defender on Anthony Edwards, and there wasn’t a second that those two shared that floor where Wells wasn’t mirroring Edwards’ every move.
Minnesota had to use a number of screens to get Edwards an inch of space to operate, but even then Wells is fighting tooth and nail to get around them to alter his shots. Even when he gets thrown on Julius Randle — who sees it as a mismatch he can exploit — Wells held his own and forced Randle to give the ball up.
And that’s just the defense. Wells is a reliable 3-point threat for the Grizzlies, and can even do a little bit more as a scorer off the bounce. In a class that doesn’t have a 15 point per game scorer, especially now that McCain is out for the rest of the season, Wells’ defensive-minded play may give him the edge for in his class. He’s a major contributor on a nightly basis, and perhaps more importantly, is doing so on a team that is poised to make a postseason run. He’s been the most impactful rookie thus far, and if that continues he could be going home with Rookie of the Year.
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