NBA Awards Watch: Good Morning, Look At The Rise Of Our Rookies

There have been so many rookies that have made an impact this week that it’s truly awesome to see. The rookies look like they have started to become solid players in their first season playing professional basketball.

To highlight one rookie in particular, it’s great to see that the Orlando Magic’s rookie power forward, Aaron Gordon, back to health after we had no clue how long he would be out of the lineup. Gordon is back and is looking lively, healthy, and he’s still a blast to watch.

In the three games that Gordon played this week he scored a combined 21 points and only averaged 18.3 minutes per night. Simply put, it’s great knowing he’s back and well.

In addition to Gordon some of the other rookies that have had notable weeks are players such as Philadelphia’s Jerami Grant, who each game looks like a better NBA player, Utah’s Joe Ingles, who could play for virtually any team on the planet, and Ingles’ teammate, Dante Exum, who started playing like he’s having a bit of fun on the court.

Bur for right now we still know who the Wolf of Wall Street is in the 2014 NBA Draft class (Andrew Wiggins), and he hasn’t slowed down a bit.

With that being said, let’s begin our rankings.

Next: Special Mention

***Special Mention***

Zach LaVine – Minnesota Timberwolves/PG

So it’s been said that LaVine dunked for the first time when he was around the age of 13. LaVine was playing in a summer league game and was around 5’9″. During the game LaVine flew in the air and punched it in with his left hand to send the crowd into a frenzy.

Now, six years later LaVine’s a participant for the 2014-15 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, and he’s going to send an even larger crowd into a frenzy.

It won’t be a cakewalk as LaVine’s normally used to. The field that LaVine will have to participate against is very good as he will have to see some of the most athletic young players in the league, Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, Orlando’s Victor Oladipo and Brooklyn’s Mason Plumlee.

On another note, the 2014 reigning dunk contest champion is the Washington Wizards point guard John Wall. However now that LaVine is a part of the contest, he should win this competition, even with the strong competition he’ll have to face.

Just take a look at one of the insane videos that LaVine has, and you’ll see why he’s my pick to win.

Next: Honorable Mention

The Lil Wayne Sorry For the Wait Two Section (Honorable Mention) 

Damjan Rudez – Indiana Pacers/PF

Damjan Rudez was in the middle of a shooting slump during the week before he had his best game as an NBA player. Rudez had a great game scoring 18 points while shooting 7-for-10 from the floor, and 4-for-7 from the three-point line. To cap off his night he also had three rebounds, one assist, and one steal in a 106-99 win against the Orlando Magic.

Nikola Mirotic – Chicago Bulls/PF

The fact that Nikola Mirotic is in the honorable mention section instead of our rankings shows how far he’s digressed. In the last week Mirotic failed to score in double digits and he only played in 29 minutes in three games. Mirotic’s best game came against the Golden State Warriors as he finished with 12 points, seven rebounds, one assist, and one steal in a tough road victory.

Also against the San Antonio Spurs he finished with six points, two assists, one steal and one blocked shot.

Cory Jefferson – Baylor/PF

One of the rookies that had a great week was Cory Jefferson. The power forward from Baylor had a great game against the Los Angeles Clippers as he finished with nine points, eight rebounds, two assists, one steal, and one blocked shot. Maybe Jefferson can become the help that the Nets need inside.

Next: 10. Marcus Smart

10. Marcus Smart – Boston Celtics/PG

Last Week: No. 5

A lot of people were anticipating the matchup between the two rookie point guards, Marcus Smart and Dante Exum. A lot of people feel that Smart got snubbed by the Jazz because they decided to draft Exum. Those same people were right as they said that Smart would play well in his first trip to Utah.

When Smart played against Exum and the Utah Jazz he went off. As Smart checked into the second quarter he had a memorable moment in the night getting a steal in the open court which resulted into easy transition points as he got a layup and went coast to coast. Smart all in the second quarter had seven points on 3-for-4 shooting, three assists, and one steal.

At the end of the night it was Smart who would come through looking the brightest as he played in the fourth quarter, with a minute remaining and helped lead his Celtics to a good road win. Smart finished the game with nine points, three rebounds, five assists and one steal.

In addition the best game of the week for Smart came against the Minnesota Timberwolves as he finished with 12 points, two rebounds, and six assists.

Next: 9. Jordan Clarkson

9. Jordan Clarkson – Los Angeles Lakers/PG

Last Week: NR

The Los Angeles Lakers’ rookie point guard from the University of Missouri, Jordan Clarkson, has absolutely owned the week. When he played against the defending champion San Antonio Spurs he had a great game finishing with 11 points on 5-for-9 shooting, three rebounds, four assists and only committing one turnover.

Clarkson might have taken a 99-85 loss to the Spurs, but the way that he played got the Lakers fan base excited because of his arrival as an NBA player. Clarkson’s best game of the week came against the Washington Wizards. The Lakers lost the game 98-92, but Clarkson stood out as he finished with 18 points, three rebounds, three assists, and one steal in 37 minutes of playing time.

Now that it’s looking like the point guard position might be his for the keeping, look for this rookie to stay without our rankings and soon enough move up our list quicker.

Next: 8. Joe Ingles

8. Joe Ingles – Utah Jazz/SF

Last Week: NR

One of the rookies on the Utah Jazz that has had an awesome week is none other than their 6’8″, 216-pound small forward, Joe Ingles. The 27-year-old has one of the most decorated international careers and now that he’s in the NBA he’s starting to make his presence felt on the Jazz and to the league.

Ingles was a stat sheet stuffing savant as he went on a binge this week. The best game of the week for Ingles came against the Brooklyn Nets where he finished with 16 points, one rebound, five assists and one steal in a 108-73 win.

To cap off the week Ingles had a great game when he played against the Los Angeles Clippers finishing with 10 points, five rebounds, seven assists, and one steal.

Ingles this week was a stat sheet stuffing savant. In the two other basketball games that Ingles played in he combined for eight points, eight rebounds, 12 assists, and six steals.

Next: 7. Jerami Grant

7. Jerami Grant – Philadelphia 76ers/SF

Last Week: No. 9

We have officially seen the rise of Jerami Grant. The 6’8″ small forward had an awesome week as he scored in double figures in two out of three games. Grant’s best game of the week came against the New Orleans Pelicans as he was able to finish the game with an awesome stat line of 10 points on 4-for-7 shooting, two rebounds, two assists, and three blocked shots.

One of the highlights of the night was when Grant went to the baseline after he noticed that the Pelicans center, Jeff Withey, was guarding him on the perimeter. Grant exploded for a reverse dunk, and made one of the memorable highlights in his rookie season.

In addition, Grant also had a great game when he played against the Memphis Grizzlies. He finished with 16 points, two rebounds and one assist.

During Grant’s last game of the week he even helped the Sixers to get a win against the Detroit Pistons. Grant finished with four points, four rebounds, two assists, one steal and two blocked shots.

Next: 6.Jusuf Nurkic

6. Jusuf Nurkic – Denver Nuggets/C

Last Week: No. 4

Rookie Jusuf Nurkic played against the Los Angeles Clippers and played like he had a point to prove. When Nurkic was guarded by DeAndre Jordan he lived up to the challenge. Nurkic didn’t back down to any of the members of the Clippers stout frontline and he played very well in the 29 minutes of playing time that he had.

Nurkic finished with six points, 10 rebounds, one assist, one steal, and three blocked shots.

More importantly the rookie center showed that he too could play with the best big men in the league and his confidence moving forward should go through the roof.

After Nurkic had a great game against the Clippers, he then took his focus out on Anthony Davis, and the New Orleans Pelicans. Nurkic finished with 15 points, nine rebounds, one steal and two blocked shots.

Also one of the notable games that Nurkic had this week occurred when he played against the Washington Wizards. Nurkic finished with six points, nine rebounds, two assists, and one steal in 19 minutes.

Next: 5. Nerlens Noel

5. Nerlens Noel – Philadelphia 76ers/PF

Last Week: No. 3

Being a rookie center is a tough job. The center’s responsibility is to bang with the other big bodies in the paint, to stay in front of them, and to jump over them to grab rebounds. If that was a job description of a center, then the most essential skill necessary for the job is strength, and right now that’s what the Philadelphia 76ers center, Nerlens Noel, lacks.

It takes some time to gain strength to have the mass and size to play against center’s such as Toronto’s Jonas Valanciunas, Memphis’ Marc Gasol, and New Orleans’ Anthony Davis, as Noel had to do this week. In each of the games Noel’s production dropped.

Noel had a great game against the Raptors finishing with 12 points, 14 rebounds, one assist, and two steals. Then against Gasol he finished with seven points, six rebounds, one steal, and one blocked shot. To cap off the week he had two points, five rebounds, two assist, and two blocks against the Pelicans.

Thankfully the week wasn’t lost as Noel had a road win against the Detroit Pistons where he finished with five points, four rebounds, five assists, four steals and two blocked shots.

Next: 4. Dante Exum

4. Dante Exum – Utah Jazz/PG

Last Week: NR

The last week of Dante Exum’s career has been completely awesome. During the week Exum’s head coach, Quin Snyder, made the decision to start Exum at the point guard position over Trey Burke. Snyder’s decision paid off as Exum has produced some of the best games of his rookie season.

The best game of the week for Exum came against the Brooklyn Nets in a 108-73 victory. When Exum played against the Nets he was nailing down jump shots, and playing an overall good game of basketball.

Exum was on the court finding shooters in when he drove baseline and threw it to the corner to shooters like Joe Ingles. In addition Exum also provided one of his best rookie moments when he caught the basketball and made an awesome pass on the pick and roll to Rudy Gobert. Exum finished with 13 points, four rebounds, and four assists.

However after the Nets game Exum failed to score in double-digit points. Moving forward he’ll have to go to the free throw line more times than he shoots three-pointers if he wants to continue to improve.

Next: 3. Elfrid Payton

3. Elfrid Payton – Orlando Magic/PG

Last Week: No. 2

Every week that goes by, is another week where we see the Orlando Magic’s starting point guard, Elfrid Payton get better. Quietly, Payton’s been one of the best point guards in the league this month. Payton is averaging 10.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, 7.2 assists, and 2.0 steals per game in the month of January.

Payton’s best game came against the Indiana Pacers when he went for 10 points, three rebounds, and eight assists. What was more impressive was that Payton shot 4-for-8 from the floor, and also only had one turnover.

Earlier in the week Payton also had a good game against the New York Knicks where he almost finished with a double double recording nine points, 11 assists, three rebounds, two steals, and one blocked shot.

Now that Payton is finally playing well enough to carry a team it’s about time that the Magic start winning a lot of these close games. The Magic are on a six game losing streak, and what’s more shocking is that they’ve lost 11 out of their 13 games in the month of January.

Next: 2. K.J. McDaniels

2. K.J. McDaniels – Philadelphia 76ers/SG

Last Week: No. 7

The week has been very good to the Philadelphia 76ers rookie small forward, K.J. McDaniels. The rookie might have still attempted a whole lot of three-pointers this week but he still managed to finish with a lot of great shooting nights.

The best game of the week for McDaniels came against one of the teams fighting for a playoff spot, the New Orleans Pelicans, inside of the Smoothie King Center. McDaniels had an awesome game on the road as he played defense really well. Because of his defense McDaniels was able to get multiple steals which led to open court fast break opportunities.

In addition another game of notable mention was when McDaniels played against the Toronto Raptors. McDaniels finished with 14 points, five rebounds, five assists, and one blocked shot.

To cap off the week McDaniels played against the Detroit Pistons and finished with 10 points, four rebounds, one steal, and one blocked shot in a great road win.

Next: 1. Andrew Wiggins

1. Andrew Wiggins – Minnesota Timberwolves/SF

Last Week: No. 1

There’s no denying the fact that Andrew Wiggins has finally figured out the NBA game. Once again Wiggins had four games in the week where he scored in double figures. The best game of the week came against the Oklahoma City Thunder, and their star guard, Russell Westbrook.

Wiggins played awesomely against another NBA All-Star and he finished the basketball game scoring 23 points.

Wiggins more impressively shot 7-for-14 from the floor, had four rebounds, two assist, two steals and one blocked shot. Additionally, Wiggins also got to the free throw line a ton of times, and finished going 9-for-12 from the charity stripe.

One of the other notable games that Wiggins had this week happened when he played against the best team in the NBA, the Atlanta Hawks. Wiggins finished with 12 points, seven rebounds, one assist, one steal, and one blocked shot in a 12-point road loss to the Hawks.

Next: Stay Patient Utah Jazz Fans, Soon Enough Derrick Favors Will Make The NBA All-Star Game