Week 14 NBA Rookie Ladder: Normalcy balances the rankings at long last

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CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – JANUARY 21: Josh Giddey #3 of the Oklahoma City Thunder looks on in the fourth quarter during their game against the Charlotte Hornets at Spectrum Center on January 21, 2022 in Charlotte, North Carolina, Week 14 NBA Rookie Ladder: Normalcy balances the rankings at long last. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images) /

Welcome back to the weekly rookie ladder update! Each week this season we will look at the race for the top five slots on the Rookie of the Year ballot, cutting the recording period every Sunday.

This week there is no more room for me to try to fit a fun fifth player into the rankings. No time to spotlight someone who got hot for a week (though, have you seen Jalen Suggs lately?).

Normalcy has finally returned to the rankings and no longer is it possible to keep the true fifth name off the list. Let’s get into that right off the bat.

In week 14 of the Rookie Ladder standings, the top five solidifies and the race for the top catches fire as the trade deadline approaches.

Week 14 NBA Rookie Ladder: 5. Josh Giddey, Oklahoma City Thunder

11.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 1.0 steals

Shooting splits: .405/.274/.667

There is no reason to keep putting it off. The longer Josh Giddey was out of the top five the more silly it got. Players like Jonathan Kuminga, Omer Yurtseven, and Jalen Suggs have all had flashes of being one of the better players in this draft.

But Josh Giddey has remained consistent and turned into a walking triple-double for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Currently, he is filling up the stat sheet in different ways from game to game while the team muddles along on the path to another top talent in the draft.

Giddey is positioning himself perfectly to be the ideal connecting talent for the Thunder moving forward, making everyone around him better simply by having the ball in his hands. Watching Giddey is an absolute delight.