At the start of the season, it looked like a one-horse race for the Rookie of the Year award. With a month left in the season, where does Marvin Bagley III of the Sacramento Kings stand?
In October, as analysts and fans were making their bids for the new season’s NBA awards, the Rookie of the Year race was one of the more interesting story lines to follow.
Would it go to the Phoenix Suns’ first overall pick, Deandre Ayton? Maybe it could be won by the foreign phenom, Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks, or the 2017 No.1 recruit Marvin Bagley III of the Sacramento Kings. Perhaps it would be a sleeper bringing home the hardware like Kevin Knox, who was selected ninth by the New York Knicks. Now with less than 20 games for each team, the picture is much clearer.
Marvin Bagley, while being selected second overall, wasn’t a prominent name in the preseason predictions. He has proved his doubters wrong, as he has significantly revved up his production in the new year. In 2019, Bagley has scored 22 points against the Toronto Raptors, followed by a 24-point outing against the San Antonio Spurs, then topped off with a 32-point showing against the Suns, with each being a new career high.
So with the season wrapping up and the award candidates making their final bids, it’s time to take a look at Marvin Bagley’s Rookie of the Year chances.
To determine his Rookie of the Year odds, we’ll be comparing his basic per-game averages to other top rookies, as well as some advanced stats like Player Impact Estimate, True Shooting Percentage, Value Over Replacement Player, and Box Plus/Minus to determine the outcome. These stats are pulled from NBA.com and Basketball-Reference.