NBA: Top 10 candidates for 2018-19 Rookie of the Year award

9. Mohamed Bamba, Orlando Magic

Mohamed Bamba has one of the highest ceilings of any prospect in this draft class, but it won’t all come together in year one. While he could very well become Rudy Gobert with a jump shot, that more polished side of his offensive game is unlikely to materialize just yet.

In fact, it’s not even guaranteed that new head coach Steve Clifford will start him at the 5. Even though he’s clearly the Orlando Magic‘s center of the future, and even though that future relies on the tantalizing frontcourt chemistry of Bamba and Jonathan Isaac, Nikola Vucevic is still on the roster. That might not be the case for long, but it’s entirely possible Vucci Mane is the team’s starter on opening night.

Bamba should get plenty of run after an inevitable Vucevic trade (or once the losses start piling up), but after averaging 8.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game in Las Vegas, it became clear he probably won’t post the raw numbers necessary to bulldoze his way into the Rookie of the Year conversation — outside of blocks, of course.