Yes, it’s that time of year again to pull out your sweater, pour a cup of hot chocolate and gather around the fire and get the inside scoop on which Rookies to watch in the NBA this season. As we all recall, last year provided a bumper crop of great rookies and rookie performances culminating in Scotty Barnes of the Toronto Raptors eeking out a close win over Evan Mobley of the Cleveland Cavaliers for Rookie of the Year. Also in the mix was 1st overall draft pick Cade Cunningham who got off to a slow start before charging back into the fray as well as Jalen Green and surprise Franz Wagner.
This year, the top 5 of the 2022 draft class was
Paolo Banchero – Orlando Magic
Chet Holmgren – OKC Thunder
Jabari Smith – Houston Rockets
Keegan Murray – Sacmo Kings
Jaden Ivey – Detroit Pistons
Obviously, the biggest statement from these 5 early on is learning that Chet Holmgren will miss the entire season. Undeniably unfortunate for the tall, lean young man although his team may well be just as happy to have another crack at a top 5 pick and Victor Wembamyama.
So what is expected of the other 4 and are there any outliers from later in the draft that we should be keeping an eye on?
Paolo Banchero is our most likely ROY of this class. At 6’10”, 250 pounds, he’s the most physically prepared and fundamentally well-rounded among incoming rookies. But what has really stood out is his ability to be a playmaker and facilitator as well as a scoring threat. While his shot will take time to mature, he’ll get enough points to be a proper triple double threat on any given night.
Keegan Murray. From a development standpoint, Sacramento has traditionally been a black hole for talent so I worry for Murray. Sure he’ll have De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis to chum around with on the court and that young core could be really fun to watch, but will Sacmo provide the development he needs to reach his NBA potential? Known on the scouting reports as NBA ready, this old rookie at 21 should be fun to watch this year.
Jabari Smith still needs significant development and will need to find his own shots as his Houston teammates Kevin Porter Jr. and Jalen Green enjoy handling the ball and finding their own shot. Most likely paying off the ball most times this season, Jabari will need to move and find space in order to let the ball find him when his teammates run into traffic if he wants to score. What Houston really needs him to do is become accomplished on the defensive side of the ball and it would be a great place to carve out a career as he and his offensive skills mature.
Jaden Ivey. He’s got one of those names that just sounds like he’s going to be overrated for most of his career, but let’s not focus on that – yet. Even playing between Cade Cunningham and Siddiq Bey Ivey is going to impress. He’s got speed, quickness and an ability to score a lot of points on any given night. Expect Ivey to compete with Banchero for ROY honors.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like we’re going to have as elite a rookie class this year as we did last, but nonetheless, stay tuned here and I’ll keep you updated on the rookie’s progress as the season plays out.