NBA: Top 10 candidates for Rookie of the Year Award in 2017-18

1. Lonzo Ball

Another member of the All-Summer League First Team, Lonzo Ball earned one distinction that no one on this list can claim: Summer League MVP honors. Behind 16.3 points, 9.3 assists, 7.7 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 1.0 blocks per game over his six appearances, it was easy to see why.

Summer League is just Summer League, but the elite passing stemming from his up-tempo playing style was always going to be his calling card, and it was on full display in Vegas. The Los Angeles Lakers are still quite a ways from recapturing their Showtime days, but Lonzo Ball is the first essential step to getting there.

Ball didn’t shoot the ball well in Sin City, but in his lone season at UCLA, he shot 55.1 percent from the floor and 41.2 percent from 3-point range. His jumper is goofy-looking and unconventional, but it goes in most of the time.

As the centerpiece of the Lakers’ rebuild, Ball will be the team’s starting point guard from day one. His game looks NBA-ready, and though he will struggle to defend opposing point guards, he’ll most likely put up the kind of gaudy, well-rounded numbers it takes to capture Rookie of the Year votes.

Next: Top 10 candidates for 2017-18 Coach of the Year Award

If the Sixers make the playoffs and Simmons helps lead the charge behind a strong stat line, Ball could lose out. But as of right now, the likely combination of big numbers, central role, heavy minutes and absurd amounts of hype make Lonzo Ball the early leader for the 2017-18 Rookie of the Year Award.