10 most impactful moments from the 2017-18 NBA season
By Luke Askew
4. Rookies wreaking havoc
The 2018 rookie class was phenomenal. It’s that simple.
If you would’ve told me that the 2018 rookie class would be as memorable as it was without first overall pick Markelle Fultz playing a significant amount of games, I would’ve thought you were crazy. But here I would be, at the end of the season, completely wrong.
Ben Simmons shouldered the playmaking load for the Philadelphia 76ers and led them to the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference while averaging 15.8 points, 8.2 assists and 8.1 rebounds per game. Not only that, but he put a lot of talk about his injuries to rest after playing in 81 games.
Jayson Tatum averaged 13.9 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game while shooting 43.4 percent from 3-point range. Those stats alone are pretty good for a rookie, but his playoff numbers were even better. In the postseason, Tatum averaged 18.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists while leading Boston to Game 7 in the Eastern Conference Finals. Not many rookies are the best offensive player on their team — especially when that team makes it to the conference finals.
Donovan Mitchell took the entire basketball world by storm. The 13th overall pick had an incredible rookie season filling in for Gordon Hayward on the Utah Jazz. Mitchell averaged 20.5 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game during the regular season, but similar to Tatum, he stepped up in the playoffs too. In the postseason, Mitchell averaged an incredible 24.4 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game, including a 38-point performance against the Thunder in a close-out game for the Jazz.
Donovan Mitchell becomes the 4th rookie in NBA history to notch 35+ points in a playoff series-clinching win. With his 38 points tonight, only Wilt Chamberlain (53 points), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (46 points), and Magic Johnson (42 points) have recorded more. #NBAPlayoffs #NBARooks pic.twitter.com/2HseTnZAIo
— Jamaican King 🇯🇲 (@_karateChris) April 28, 2018
If you want more evidence as to how awesome this year’s rookie class was, Lauri Markkanen averaged a really impressive 15.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per game for the Bulls while Lonzo Ball consistently flirted with a triple-double, averaging 10.2 points, 7.2 assists and 6.9 rebounds per game for the Los Angeles Lakers, and I barely got around to mentioning either of them.
Also, shout out to Kyle Kuzma for being an insanely talented rookie who I just didn’t end up mentioning in this slide due to length constraints.