Cavs’ Mobley hanging on to #1 in Rookie Ladder; Raps’ Barnes impressing
It’s already a known fact that the 2021 NBA Draft class is full of great players. Cade Cunningham, Jalen Green, Evan Mobley, and Scottie Barnes are only four of the league’s rookies who have played at a high level season. With that being said, I’d be lying if I told you the Rookie of the Year Race was over, because it’s most certainly not.
Even pretty recently, it seemed as if Evan Mobley would continue to hold a substantial lead over the rest of the rookies this season, largely based off his first half alone for the Cleveland Cavaliers. But, an injury to Jarrett Allen, and more recently, his own sprained ankle have turned that narrative on its head. Now, while Mobley is still in the lead this week, there are a couple of guys who are looking to overtake the top spot.
The good news is that Mobley, and Jarrett Allen should be back in the rotation by the time the play-in tournament comes around, or so it seems. Cade Cunningham didn’t help his Rookie of the Year case as he only played eight minutes versus the Oklahoma City Thunder, then missed the entire game versus the Indiana Pacers. However, in terms of skill set and playmaking, he’s the best there is in this rookie class. He will need a very strong finish to overtake Mobley.
Behind Cunningham is a guy who is coming in under-the-radar a bit. Scottie Barnes has had a fantastic season for the Toronto Raptors. If you just look at his statistics and the impact he’s had on a good Raptors team, he should and will get some votes.
Looking past him, Jalen Green is up to the fourth rung this week. Even though the Houston Rockets keep losing, Green keeps on impressing. He’s averaged 32 points per game since last week’s ladder. I think it’s okay to forgive him for his terrible first half of the season.
Finally, bringing up the rear, once again is Franz Wagner of the Orlando Magic. I don’t know what Wagner needs to do to get noticed, but he’s having a great season. Every week he stays in the same spot, no matter what happens around him. Talk about consistency! Here’s the full Rookie Ladder Rankings for this week:
- Evan Mobley, Forward, Cavaliers
- Cade Cunningham, Guard, Detroit Pistons
- Scottie Barnes, Forward, Raptors
- Jalen Green, Guard, Rockets
- Franz Wagner, Forward, Magic
- Josh Giddey, Guard, Thunder
- Herbert Jones, Forward, New Orleans Pelicans
- Davion Mitchell, Guard, Sacramento Kings
- Bones Hyland, Guard, Denver Nuggets
- Ayo Dosunmu, Guard, Chicago Bulls
- Jonathan Kuminga, Forward, Golden State Warriors
- Chris Duarte, Guard, Pacers
Even though Giddey hasn’t played since the All-Star break, his triple-doubles and playmaking performances from before the break keeps him in the sixth spot.
Jones and Mitchell are both great defenders, and have looked better and better in their increasing offensive roles. Bones Hyland and Ayo Dosunmu are two floor generals, who before the season would not have made any type of rookie ladder.
And finally we have Jonathan Kuminga in the 11th spot. There have been calls for him to play more, but his playoff role might be “series dependent.”
From there, Duarte started off hot, but has faded at the end of the season. On top of that, he missed a bunch of games due to injury.