NBA: Top 10 candidates for 2019-20 NBA Rookie of the Year

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(Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Last season, the NBA Rookie of the Year race was a runaway before Trae Young made a late run at winner Luka Doncic. Who are the contenders in 2019-20?

It is shaping up like the 2019-20 NBA season could be a good one for the rookies, with more than a few players set up to be important contributors to their teams in their first NBA seasons.

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Last year, the Rookie of the Year race was not a complete runaway, but it was a convincing win by Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks, who got 98 of the 100 first-place votes after averaging 21.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game.

The other two votes went to Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks, who shook off a rough start to the season to post some solid numbers, though his efficiency will need to be monitored.

Deandre Ayton, the No. 1 overall pick, averaged a double-double for the Phoenix Suns and didn’t receive a first-place vote. So, yes, it was a strong class.

Considering that two seasons earlier, Joel Embiid got 23 first-place votes despite appearing in only 31 games in a year when Malcolm Brogdon‘s 10.2 points and 26.4 minutes per game was a convincing winner, it’s a good look for the rooks.

It appears there is one overwhelming favorite to win Rookie of the Year in the NBA in 2019-20 and that would be No. 1 overall pick Zion Williamson, who went to the New Orleans Pelicans after a surprise in the draft lottery.

But there are other top-five picks worth noting, as well as some players who could be big-time competitors despite not even landing in the lottery.

Here are the top 10 contenders to take down the Rookie of the Year award in 2019-20.