It’s been exciting to see all of the latest developments within our rookie rankings.
The rookie that has separated himself from the rest of his peers, Andrew Wiggins, is continuing to have a great rookie season. The lowest point total that Wiggins had this week was 12 points. On the other hand the highest point total of the week that he recorded was 31 points, a new career-high.
However, the rookie that’s starting to figure out the NBA game and quickly ascending up our rankings is none other than the Orlando Magic’s starting point guard, Elfrid Payton. During the week Payton really turned into the floor general that the Magic have needed. Payton had 49 points and 28 assists in his four games this week.
It’s safe to say that he’s going to stay high on our Rookie of the Year watch until the end of the season.
With that being said let’s begin our rankings.
Next: Honorable Mention
The Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg Next Episode Section (Honorable Mention)
P.J. Hairston – Charlotte Hornets/SG
The Charlotte Hornets rookie P.J. Hairston did what he does best when he played against the Minnesota Timberwolves, shoot the lights out. When he played against the Timberwolves, Hairston went 3-for-5 from the three-point line and finished with 11 points and four rebounds.
Tarik Black – Los Angeles Lakers/PF
Thankfully now that Tarik Black is a part of the Los Angeles Lakers he’s finally getting consistent playing time. In every game that he’s played this week Black managed to have at least six points and three rebounds. His best game of the week came against the Phoenix Suns as he finished with six points, three rebounds, one steal and a blocked shot.
Travis Wear – New York Knicks/PF
The week has been kind to Travis Wear as he had yet another great explosion when he went 5-for-8 from the floor for 13 points in 21 minutes against the Milwaukee Bucks. In addition, Wear also had six points, five rebounds, two assists, and one blocked shot when he played against the Charlotte Hornets.
Shabazz Napier – Miami Heat
It’s been tough for the Miami Heat’s rookie point guard, Shabazz Napier. He’s been bouncing in and out of the NBA’s Developmental League and he’s been out of the point guard rotation. However, recently Napier has been playing very well. When he played against the Sacramento Kings he finished with an awesome game, recording 12 points, six rebounds, five assists, two steals and one block in 38 minutes. Then he followed up that performance with a five-point, three-rebound, four-assist effort in 16 minutes against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Next: 10. Nikola Mirotic
10. Nikola Mirotic – Chicago Bulls/PF
Last Week: No. 9
The rookie who’s started to lose a lot of his followers is the Chicago Bulls power forward Nikola Mirotic.
Mirotic didn’t have the week we’re not normally accustomed to. In the week he didn’t score in double figures once, and he didn’t have a game with more than five rebounds.
The best game of the week for Mirotic came against the Boston Celtics. In 26 minutes of playing time Mirotic had five points, three rebounds, four assists and two steals and the Bulls left Boston with a good 119-103 road win.
On the year Mirotic is averaging 7.9 points on 40 percent shooting from the floor, 35 percent shooting from the three-point line, 4.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.
*On another note: To every person who thought that Bulls made a better decision by getting Mirotic instead of bringing in Carmelo Anthony is just hating. Stop hating, it’s not good for you.
Next: 9. Jerami Grant
9. Jerami Grant – Philadelphia 76ers/SF
Last Week: NR
The Philadelphia 76ers sure have struck gold, managing to get Jerami Grant in the second round of the 2014 NBA Draft. The rookie has played quite well, and in his last 10 games he’s been one of the best rookies in his class. In his last 10 games, Grant is hovering around seven points per game while shooting around 45 percent from the floor.
Grant’s best game of the week came against one of the teams who will contend for the NBA championship, the Washington Wizards. In 25 minutes of playing time, Grant finished with 12 points on 4-for-10 shooting, two rebounds, and one assist. Against the Wizards he even went 3-for-6 from the three-point line.
Also during the week Grant had some stat stuffing games. When he played against the Detroit Pistons he had five points, one rebound, one assists, two steals and one blocked shot in 21 minutes.
Next: 8. Bojan Bogdanovic
8. Bojan Bogdanovic – Brooklyn Nets/SG
Last Week: No. 8
The Brooklyn Nets have started getting a bit of the production that they’ve desperately needed from their shooting guard, Bojan Bogdanovic. When the Nets get production from their rookie they are a very good team. In the wins that the Nets have Bogdanovic averages around nine points a game and he shoots nearly 46 percent from the field.
The rookie Bogdanovic provided 12 points, five rebounds and two assists when he played against the Washington Wizards, and the result was a 102-80 road win over one of the best basketball teams in the league.
When the Wizards played the Nets in the second game of their home-and-home, Bogdanovic wasn’t as effective and it hurt the Nets. Bogdanovic only scored eight points and the Wizards left Brooklyn with a 99-90 win.
Offensively Bogdanovic might be the best rookie shooting guard in the 2014 NBA Draft class and the way he’s been playing this season it’s hard to disagree.
Next: 7. K.J. McDaniels
7. K.J. McDaniels – Philadelphia 76ers/SG
Last Week: No. 3
No one knows if K.J. McDaniels has gotten the memo yet or not, but he’s not a shooter.
The fact that McDaniels attempts nearly three three-pointers a game is crazy because on the year he’s shooting 29 percent from distance. In three of his last four games during the week McDaniels went 0-for-7 from the three-point line.
On the other hand, since McDaniels isn’t a shooter yet, he needs to get to the rim more. He’s shooting 75 percent from the charity stripe and only attempts around two free throws a game. To contrast from his three-point shooting, McDaniels went 2-for-5 from the free throw line.
Thankfully the defense that McDaniels plays is his saving grace. During the week McDaniels recorded eight rebounds, three steals, and three blocks. Offensively McDaniels also added in five assists.
In the best game of the week McDaniels played against the New York Knicks and he finished with 12 points, five rebounds, and one assist.
Next: 6. Zach LaVine
6. Zach LaVine – Minnesota Timberwolves/PG
Last Week: No. 4
One of the rookies who’s developing quite nicely at the point guard position is the Minnesota Timberwolves point guard Zach LaVine. What was supposed to be a developmental project has turned into a great success, as LaVine has turned into a reliable player at the point guard position.
In the limited minutes that LaVine’s been playing he’s been extremely efficient. When LaVine played 12 minutes against the Denver Nuggets inside of the Pepsi Arena, he had seven points while shooting 3-for-4 from the floor, grabbed a rebound, had three assists, and recorded a steal.
In addition when LaVine played against the Charlotte Hornets he had nine points on 4-for-9 shooting, one rebound, three assists, one steal, and one blocked shot.
The most impressive game of the week that LaVine had he played 21 minutes against the Dallas Mavericks and had two points, one rebound, five assists, and one turnover.
Next: 5. Marcus Smart
5. Marcus Smart – Boston Celtics/PG
Last Week: No. 7
The fact that the Boston Celtics point guard Marcus Smart continues to shoot three-pointers, isn’t the worst problem to have, he’s shooting 36 percent from the three-point line. It was a huge surprise that when he played against the Los Angeles Clippers he had the stones to attempt seven three-pointers.
Thankfully Smart made four of his attempts and because of it he finished with 14 points.
When Smart played against the Clippers he looked like he was a shooting guard the way he was catching the basketball off of screens, curling off the screen and then letting a jump shot fly.
What was great to see Smart do was get his teammates involved. Anytime any of his teammates got open, or even had the slightest advantage against their matchup Smart made sure they got delivered the basketball. Because of his decision-making Smart also had two rebounds, seven assists, one block and one steal to finish the game.
Also one of the notable games that Smart had this week was when he played against the Atlanta Hawks. Smart finished with six points, five rebounds, five assists, and three steals.
Next: 4. Jusuf Nurkic
4. Jusuf Nurkic – Denver Nuggets/C
Last Week: No. 2
Anytime any big man in the league has to play against the San Antonio Spurs future Hall of Game power forward, Tim Duncan, it’s a memorable event. The Denver Nuggets rookie center, Jusuf Nurkic, had the opportunity to play against Duncan and the Spurs, and he didn’t disappoint.
When Nurkic played against the Spurs he almost had a double double finishing with 10 points and nine rebounds, only playing in 26 minutes. In addition Nurkic shot great from the field shooting 5-for-9 for 55 percent, and also contributed two assists.
However besides the game against the Spurs, Nurkic’s week was fairly bad.
In the rest of Nurkic’s games he didn’t have good shooting nights. Nurkic had a terrible shooting percentage going 3-for-20 from the floor. Thankfully in spite of his bad shooting week Nurkic still rebounded well. In every game he played in he had at least six or more rebounds.
Next: 3. Nerlens Noel
3. Nerlens Noel – Philadelphia 76ers/PF
Last Week: No. 5
The week has been extremely good to the Philadelphia 76ers center, Nerlens Noel. The rookie from the University of Kentucky might have played the best game of his career when he played the New Orleans Pelicans.
In the 33 minutes of playing time that he had, Noel put on a show as he went for yet another double double in his rookie season with 17 points while 7-for-10 shooting from the floor, grabbing 11 rebounds, dishing out two assists, getting two steals, and blocking five shots.
Noel was very active as he was flying over the rim to grab offensive rebounds and tip dunk them in. What was more impressive to see was the moves that Noel made when he got the basketball.
At one point in the game while Omer Asik was defending him Noel caught the basketball on the right block. Noel took one dribble inside, made a pivot and shot the basketball with a hook shot over his right shoulder and nailed it. If he can develop a shot like this as a go to move, or a counter move then he’s already on the correct path to developing.
In addition later in the week Noel also had a great game when he played the Washington Wizards. Noel had 11 points, seven rebounds, three assists, four steals, and one blocked shot in 31 minutes.
Next: 2. Elfrid Payton
2. Elfrid Payton – Orlando Magic/PG
Last Week: No. 6
The Orlando Magic has made a lot of franchises look foolish for passing up on Elfrid Payton. When the Magic made sure that they traded for the player who the Philadelphia 76ers drafted with the 10th pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, they arguably came up with a huge steal and because of their gamble, Payton has made the Magic look very intelligent.
Payton had the best game of his career when he played against the Memphis Grizzlies going for 22 points on 9-for-16 shooting, four rebounds, 12 assists and two steals.
Payton was an absolute bully as he kept taking the Grizzlies point guard Beno Udrih off the dribble anytime Payton use the pick and roll. Payton used the pick and roll so he could get into the paint and the game plan worked. Once Payton got inside of the painted area he was hitting jump shots off of one leg, he was shooting floaters and he was getting to the free throw line.
In addition during the week Payton followed up his magical night with another great game when he played against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Payton finished with a stat line of 19 points on 9-for-17 shooting, four rebounds, eight assists and three steals.
Next: 1. Andrew Wiggins
1. Andrew Wiggins – Minnesota Timberwolves/SF
Last Week: No. 1
The highlight of Andrew Wiggins’ week came when he scored a career-high 31 points when he played against the Denver Nuggets.
Wiggins was extremely efficient as he shot 11-for-16 from the floor. Wiggins was giving the Nuggets the complete offensive arsenal as he was nailing catch and shoot jump shots, and nailing shots off the dribble.
In addition what was really impressive was the way Wiggins was playing defense. Wiggins found himself guarding one of the best shooters in the league, the Nuggets shooting guard, Arron Afflalo, and Wiggins accepted the challenge. Before the end of the night Wiggins had two blocked shots to his name just from blocking two of Afflalo’s jump shots.
Wiggins final stat line was 31 points on 11-for-17 shooting from the floor and 4-for-5 shooting from the three-point line, nine rebounds, four assists, one steal, and three blocked shots.
There hasn’t been another rookie who’s been more impressive this month and Wiggins keeps showing why we should end the Rookie of the Year race and give him the award.
Next: Stay Patient Utah Jazz Fans, Soon Enough Derrick Favors Will Make The NBA All-Star Game