Milwaukee Bucks: Was Malcolm Brogdon a trend for Rookie of the Year?

The Milwaukee Bucks found a gem in Malcolm Brogdon, who won Rookie of the Year as a second round pick. Was his victory a sign of things to come?

Malcolm Brogdon of the Milwaukee Bucks was not expected to win Rookie of the Year. Based on where he was drafted, with the 36th pick in the second round of the 2016 NBA Draft, he was not expected to make much of an impact last season at all.

Eleven rookies received votes to win Rookie of the Year on ESPN‘s Summer Forecast before last season; Brogdon was not one of them. NBA.com’s GM survey likewise left Brogdon off of the list. In fact, the former Virginia guard was not the top pick for the award on his own team, with 10th overall pick Thon Maker more highly touted.

Brogdon blew away all expectations in his rookie season, eventually earning the starting point guard role for the Bucks. When Milwaukee went on a hard second-half push to make the postseason, Brogdon was the one starting over veteran Matthew Dellavedova. That was also the case when the Bucks pushed the Toronto Raptors to six games in the playoffs.

The question to ask as we look to 2017 and beyond is whether Brogdon winning the award was an aberration or the start of something new. To answer that question, we should look first at which type of players typically win Rookie of the Year.

After that we will analyze why Brogdon broke the trend to win in 2016, before turning our eyes to the upcoming rookie class. Finally should we expect any difference in rookie classes and award winners down the road? Will a “Malcolm Brogdon” ever win Rookie of the Year again?