Golden State Warriors: 5 goals for Jacob Evans’ rookie season

2. Make the All-Rookie Team

The All-Rookie teams tend to be dominated by the flashiest rookies filling up the stat sheet in every way. Last season’s teams were made up of lottery picks and high-producing players for one of the most competitive rookie classes in memory.

Yet two years ago, the precedent was set for a different kind of player gaining recognition. Malcolm Brogdon of the Milwaukee Bucks won Rookie of the Year on the basis of being a starter on a playoff team, beating out players putting up numbers on a lottery squad like Dario Saric.

That is not to say that Evans has a shot at Rookie of the Year, because there does not seem to be a path to such an award. But it does illustrate that voters are looking behind the box scores to see a player’s contribution to winning.

If Evans marks out a steady place in the rotation, hits a high number of 3-pointers and generates steals, he will toss his name into the ring. If he’s given a more featured role — due to injuries or rest for the players ahead of him — and he puts up big numbers, it will add the highlight package to his case to make a team.

Evans certainly cannot control how the votes are distributed for the award, and his spot on such a loaded roster makes this a long shot. But Evans simply needs to do his best to put himself in that position.