NBA rookie rankings: How Rookie of the Year race shapes up after Jared McCain injury

Posted by Admin December 27, 2024 NBA

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The NBA Rookie of the Year field was expansive before Philadelphia 76ers guard Jared McCain sustained a torn meniscus in his left knee.

With an injury that required surgery and sidelined McCain indefinitely, the race for the award is even more fluid.

Who will emerge as the top NBA Rookie of the Year candidate in the final four months of the season? No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher of the Atlanta Hawks? No. 2 pick Alexandre Sarr of the Washington Wizards? No. 4 pick Stephon Castle of the San Antonio Spurs? No. 9 pick Zach Edey of the Memphis Grizzlies? Or will No. 39 pick Jaylen Wells of the Grizzlies become the second second-round selection in the lottery era to win Rookie of the Year?

Or perhaps another player – Chicago’s Matas Buzelis? New Orleans’ Yves Missi? Oklahoma City’s Ajay Mitchell? Detroit’s Ron Holland II? – will vault into the conversation?

It’s a wide-open race with a long list of candidates. Here’s USA TODAY Sports’ NBA Rookie of the Year post-Christmas power rankings (stats through Dec. 25):

7. Memphis Grizzlies center Zach Edey

Edey is back in the Memphis rotation after missing a month with a sprained left ankle and had a double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds) in his first game back on Dec. 15. Edey’s per 36-minute averages: 17.9 points, 12.7 rebounds, 1.8 blocks, 1.4 steals and 59.4% shooting, and he has a defined role with one of the better teams in the Western Conference.

6. Atlanta Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher

Risacher, the No. 1 overall pick in June, is one of six rookies averaging at least 10 points. But like other rookies, he’s learning how difficult it is to produce game after game in the NBA. From Nov. 27 through Dec. 8, Risacher had seven consecutive games with at least 10 points. In his past five games, he’s reached 10 points just once and scored just two points in two games.

5. Los Angeles Lakers forward Dalton Knecht

Knecht is among the rookies who have played well and also struggled at times. Since scoring 20 points each in consecutive games in late November, Knecht has reached double figures in points just twice and is shooting just 14.3% (5-for-35) on 3s in his past 11 games.

4. Washington Wizards center Alexandre Sarr

Sarr, a 19-year-old 7-footer, averages 11.2 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.8 blocks and has shown improvement in December. In his past 10 games, Sarr has registered 13.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.5 blocks per game and displayed an ability to hit 3s, connecting on 40.8% of his 3-point attempts in that span. That’s a great sign for Sarr and the Wizards.

3. New Orleans Pelicans center Yves Missi

Missi is one of the welcome surprises in the 2024-25 rookie class. Well, maybe not a surprise to the Pelicans, who drafted him with the 21st pick in the first round. At 26.6 minutes per game, he is almost averaging a double-double at 9.7 points and 8.6 rebounds and leads all rookies with seven double-doubles, including 23 points and 12 rebounds against Atlanta on Dec. 2 and 18 points and 14 rebounds against San Antonio on Dec. 8. He’s shooting 55.7% from the field with 1.2 blocks per game.

2. San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle

Castle’s performance is another example of the ups and downs of a rookie. After scoring 22 points against New Orleans on Dec. 8, Castle, who averages 11.4 points and 3.8 assists, had games of two, seven and eight points and was 8-for-28 shooting. Then he had 17 points on 7-for-9 shooting Monday and six points on Christmas.

1. Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaylen Wells

Wells has become a key contributor and a starter for the Grizzlies, who are in third place in the Western Conference. He averages 11.4 points and 3.3 rebounds and shoots 46.4% from the field and a noteworthy 39.3% on 3s. He’s playing 24.5 minutes per game – and per-36 minutes, he averages 16.7 points. Wells and Ja Morant play well together, too, with the Grizzlies scoring 114.6 points and allowing 103.7 points per 100 possessions when they share court time. Wells is no longer under the radar, and it will be worth watching how he plays as opponents focus on him.