Phoenix Suns: Best candidates for 2018-19 NBA awards

Rookie of the Year: Deandre Ayton

As the No. 1 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, it’s no surprise that one of the top goals for Deandre Ayton‘s rookie season is winning Rookie of the Year. Team success doesn’t factor in as heavily here, though it has in recent seasons. If the Suns show marginal improvement, he should put up the raw numbers necessary to garner a lot of votes.

As a freshman at Arizona, Ayton averaged 20.1 points, 11.6 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game on 61.2 percent shooting. In NBA Summer League, where he didn’t even look particularly dominant, he still posted 14.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 1.0 steals and 1.0 blocks per game on 59.5 percent shooting. It’s no wonder he opened as the favorite to win ROY honors:

He’s got a lot of work to do on the defensive end of the floor, and he’s unlikely to reach his ceiling as a stretch-5 in the first year of his career. However, at 7’1″ and 250 pounds, Ayton is built like a modern-day David Robinson. His NBA-ready physique will allow him to bang with other bigs in the paint, haul in offensive rebounds and get a lot of easy points around the rim.

Luka Doncic, Kevin Knox, Collin Sexton Trae Young, Jaren Jackson Jr., Wendell Carter Jr., Mohamed Bamba and Marvin Bagley III could all represent competition for Rookie of the Year, but Ayton will earn plenty of minutes as the Suns’ starter and he’ll still put up numbers on the nights where he’s not playing like a future franchise pillar. That’ll be enough to put him in serious contention for ROY.

Odds: NBA, meet your ROY frontrunner.