Ah, another edition of the Kia NBA Rookie Ladder was released last Wednesday, and there were no real surprises within the rankings. I still believe and will continue to believe that Evan Mobley should be at the top every week, simply because nobody has had an impact on their new team quite like Mobley has with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He’s making his biggest impact in the most important statistic; wins.
This season the Cavaliers are a surprisingly good 13-7 with him, and without him they are 0-4. It doesn’t get much more straightforward than that. Mobley is having the biggest impact in the game’s most pivotal statistic. Nonetheless, we do need to talk about some of the other NBA rookies that were found on the ladder last week.
Scottie Barnes stays atop, while Cunningham further solidifies himself
The Toronto Raptors fourth overall selection this season Scottie Barnes has taken everything that I thought I knew about him for the draft, and shoved it right in my face. He’s been sensational this season while playing the most minutes out of any rookie (35.3) and is averaging just over 15 points per contest while also hauling in nearly eight rebounds.
Barnes has been the two-way star for Toronto that I don’t think a lot of people saw coming. On top of all of that, the Raptors have now won two straight games after having a tough nine-game stretch the previous weeks, outside of Canada. Overall, I think it’s safe to say at this point, the two best rookies in the 2021 NBA Draft have been Scottie Barnes and Evan Mobley. However, with that being said, be on the lookout for No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham.
With Cunningham in mind, he seems to finally be getting his groove going in the NBA. While some people may say Cunningham is underperforming, it’s just simply not true if you compare him to last year’s Rookie of the Year, LaMelo Ball. Through fifteen games last season, Ball was averaging 11.5 points per game, while dishing out six assists and grabbing six boards. Granted, LaMelo was shooting much better than Cade at this point, shooting 40 percent from the field and 32 percent from three.
Cunningham’s slash line of 34 percent/25 percent isn’t that far off from the the third Ball brother. If you take a closer look at Ball’s Rookie of the Year season, he really didn’t start to emerge out of the pack until he was the focal point of the Charlotte Hornets offense in 2020. I expect the first overall pick to get more and more comfortable playing in his role with the Detroit Pistons, but eventually they will have to make him the number one guy, and when that happens, I’m not sure either Barnes or Mobley are safe on this ladder.
Josh Giddey continues to impress, Jalen Green trends down
I’m sure most of you noticed, but the Oklahoma City Thunder were on the receiving end of the worst blowout in NBA history last Thursday. A Ja Morant-less Memphis Grizzlies squad beat the Thunder like a drum to the final score of 152-79. It was a bad, bad day for Oklahoma City fans. However, the Thunder’s sixth overall pick Josh Giddey has continued to improve almost weekly this season.
He got off to a slow start and had to get used to the NBA game, but at this point in the season he’s averaging over ten points per game, seven rebounds, and six assists. He did not play in the Grizzlies game, though I don’t know how much of a difference he could have made. Shoot, I don’t think Stephen Curry would have made a whole lot of difference. Giddey is adjusting to the NBA game, and he’s doing it well. He’s not the quickest or fastest ball handler, but he’s patient.
The best way I can describe Giddey to Cavaliers fans is that he’s a taller and younger version of Ricky Rubio, who has been a savior for the Cavs this season.
The interesting rookie year of Jalen Green has been quite weird. Granted I don’t have my ear to the ground to find out about all the games out West. Even still, it seems like the Houston Rockets rookie second overall pick is not having quite the impact many would have hoped this early in his career. He nearly fell out of the ladder this past week, as he suffered an injury.
It’s also fair to mention that the Rockets have won six straight, five of which were without Green on the floor. Just something to think about!
JB’s Step Ladder
So, for the first time this season, I will be revealing my own rookie ladder. However, this week it’s pretty simple. Also I’m sticking to only three rookies this week.
Personally I feel like these guys have stood out the most. But, I will add some in depending on how they play in the coming weeks. It’s very possible I have 12 rookies on my step ladder next week.
#1: Evan Mobley:
I said it earlier in the article, what is the most important statistic in basketball? Winning, and without Mobley in the lineup the Cavaliers are 0-4. It’s also incredible to me at least, how easily he is able to block shots. He’s now had three games in his NBA career with at least four blocks.
#2: Scottie Barnes:
He’s also been very good for the Raptors. I fully admit that I did not think he would be a good fit in the NBA. His shooting was lackluster, and he also looked lost at times. With that said he’s been worth every penny this year.
#3: Cade Cunningham:
Yeah, I know, real shocker at the third slot here. Cunningham has already shown elite flashes in the games he’s played, and there is still every reason to believe that he will be one of the best, if not the best rookie in the class at the end of the year.
On the bubble: Josh Giddey, Jalen Suggs, Davion Mitchell
It’ll be interesting to see what shakes out for the second edition of my rookie ladder next week.