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2016-17 NBA Awards Season: Top 10 Rookie Of The Year Candidates

By Gerald Bourguet

Mar 6, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard Malcolm Brogdon (13) passes off past Philadelphia 76ers forward Richaun Holmes (22) and forward Dario Saric (9) during the second half at Wells Fargo Center. The Milwaukee Bucks won 112-98. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 6, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard Malcolm Brogdon (13) passes off past Philadelphia 76ers forward Richaun Holmes (22) and forward Dario Saric (9) during the second half at Wells Fargo Center. The Milwaukee Bucks won 112-98. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
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Rookie Of The Year
Feb 9, 2017; Orlando, FL, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Dario Saric (9) reacts after he made a shot in the fourth quarter against the Orlando Magic at Amway Center. Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Orlando Magic 112-111. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

3. Dario Saric

This may be a controversial landing spot for Dario Saric in our top-10, since a lot of voters have him at the top of their ballots. Joel Embiid‘s availability will prevent most people from considering him, leaving Saric and his extremely strong post-All-Star break numbers to represent the Philadelphia 76ers for ROY.

The Sixers might have had three Rookie of the Year candidates if Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot had gotten more minutes earlier in the season, but for now, Saric and his 81 games played seem like their best bet for winning the award.

That being said, can we really say Embiid’s awe-inspiring 31 games this season don’t deserve ROY votes when Saric’s candidacy heavily leans on a 25-game sample size following the All-Star break?

The Homie has been tremendous in that stretch, don’t get me wrong. He’s leading all rookies in scoring, is second to only Hernangomez in rebounds and is fourth in assists since the break, putting up an eye-opening 17.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game.

But Philly is only 7-18 with him being the team’s go-to guy on offense, and although that’s not enough to knock his ROY case, it is enough to open the door for Joel Embiid and Malcolm Brogdon. Winning isn’t as important for ROY as it is for an award like MVP, but whenever an awards race is close, shouldn’t the edge go to the player(s) who helped their teams win the most?

After all, Saric is only averaging 12.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game on .411/.311/.782 shooting splits for the season, so let’s not act like he should be a runaway favorite compared to Embiid’s limited brilliance or Brogdon’s contributions to an actual playoff team.