NBA: Top Rookies

As many people predicted, this year’s rookie class has been one of the best we have seen, chalk full of contributors up and down rosters. With names like Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell, it had star power right at the top, with people salivating what these teenagers might turn into in three or four years.However, what makes this rookie class so good is the depth all the way through the lottery and into the late first round.The first couple names on this list were easy to pick and place, but as I got into the fourth and fifth selections, it was very hard to differentiate who to put on the list. With some of these rookies playing on abysmal teams (Jahlil Okafor, D’Angelo Russell, and Devin Booker), I had a hard time choosing just who I would put on this list.Since there are so many good players to choose from, I tended to go with players who were contributing to at least normal bad teams over guys with better numbers from awful teams. So with apologies to the three names above, as well as Trey Lyles, Frank Kaminsky, Bobby Portis, Cameron Payne, and Emmanuel Mudiay, Jerian Grant, Willie Cauley-Stein, and Mario Herzonja (told you there are a lot), here are my top five so far.

#5 Nikola Jokic

Nikola Jokic has backed down from no one in his rookie season

2014 Draft - 2nd Round, 41st Overall, Denver Nuggets

Our number five player comes to us from the 2014 draft, as the Denver Nuggets drafted Nikola Jokic as a stash player in Europe before having him come over a year later. And trust, watching this newly minted 21-year-old, you know that the year was worth the wait.

He is very polished around the basket for a young big, shooting 52% on the season, but what has people very excited is he has shown the ability to knock down a jumper, shooting about 40% from 16 feet out.

Couple this with his nimble feet that help him patrol both pick and roll coverage as well as the back line of the defense, and you have a kid who has the looks of developing into a top 10 center in the league. Think a slightly more athletic Nikola Vucevic.

Averaging just under 20 minutes per game, his per 36 averages of 17 points, 11 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1 block suggest he will be a force to be reckoned with for years to come. The Nuggets seem to have found a gem in the second round and pairing him with Emmanuel Mudiay, Will Barton, and Gary Harris gives them an intriguing young core.

#4 Myles Turner

Myles Turner’s development is ahead of schedule

2015 Draft - 1st Round, 11th Overall, Indiana Pacers

I admit, when I saw the Pacers had drafted Turner on draft night, I was expecting a project who wouldn’t be ready for real contribution until year three of his career. After, he still hasn’t even turned 20 and was sometimes underwhelming in his only year of college (that’s what I get for expecting Rick Barnes to get the best out of his players).

Well, I am here to tell you that I was happily wrong about Turner, because after missing a month and a half to start the season, he has been a revelation since the turn of the calendar.

Since January, he is averaging 24 minutes a game while throwing up 12 points (53% shooting), 5.5 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks per game. Even more impressive than his numbers, he just flat looks like he belongs on the court, being a difference for a playoff team that really needs him.

Just last week, I was watching him play against the Miami Heat, and he was the catalyst, on a team of veterans, in a Pacers comeback that ultimately fell short. He is still foul happy, a problem for a lot of young big men, but this guy is going to be a force to be reckoned with for years to come.

#3 Justise Winslow

Justise Winslow has been a much-needed jolt of youth for the Heat

2015 Draft - 1st Round, 10th Overall, Miami Heat

The guy outside of the top five who was all the talk on draft night, the guy the Celtics reportedly offered four draft picks to the Charlotte Hornets to draft, has lived up to a decent amount of the hype that was surrounding him. And he’s done it in a very unconventional way when it comes to judging rookies.

He doesn’t average a lot of points, 6.1 on 42% shooting while sporting a rough to look at 7.9 PER, Winslow is so much more than points, as evidence by his 3.8 net rating, according to NBA.com. It helps that he plays a fair amount with Chris Bosh and is in a great culture, but still, he makes a difference night in and night out.

Possibly my favorite stat of Winslow this year has come from the month of February, when he averaged 7.8 rebounds in 31 minutes of floor time. This kid showed when he was at Duke that he would not shy away from the challenge of going up against bigger guys, and that has carried over to the NBA where he does some of his most effective work in the painted area.

He is also shaping up to be quite the defensive player, and with his 20th birthday still a few weeks away, it is scary what he could become as a two way player.

#2 Kristaps Porzingis

Kristaps Porzingis has been a revelation for the Knicks

2015 Draft - 1st Round, 4th Overall, New York Knicks

Everybody loves the Zinger, the new hope that Knicks fans are now clinging to as the savior to bring back glory to the basketball mecca. Porzingis exploded onto the season to start the season, with eight double-doubles in the first month, including four 20/10 games. Knicks fans went from booing him on draft night to showering him with praise, and the Zinger has not wilted once under the growing pressure. Maybe more than anything on the court, he seems to have the mental fortitude that can help him go a long way in the pressure cooker that is New York City.

The Zinger has been the Knicks second or third best player all season, starting every game and meshing very well with current star Carmelo Anthony. He currently holds the best net rating on the team for players who have seen significant playing time at -0.2, and this is with the Knicks falling into a tailspin in the last month and a half. He is so skinny that he sometimes gets pushed around, especially when fighting for rebounds, but everything that has been said about this kid says he will put in the work to make sure he is a star for years to come.

#1 Karl-Anthony Towns

Karl-Anthony Towns is the undisputed top rookie of the year.

2015 Draft - 1st Round, 1st Overall, Minnesota Timberwolves

Look, I know I said I was going to avoid rookies on abysmal teams, but Towns is the exception that proves my rule. This KAT is just too good to overlook and put anyone else ahead of him. The person he was compared to most in the draft, Jahlil Okafor, is currently sporting a net rating of -16.6 while Towns is at a mere -3 which is right in line with his team’s rating and not off the charts bad like Okafor.

Even more, he is doing things that we haven’t seen a 20-year-old do since the names of Shaquille O’Neal and Chris Webber were rookies.

His PER is over 22 right now, he just averaged 21 points (54% shooting), 12 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.6 blocks in February, and you see him getting better and better month after month. Some people want to thrust him into the best center conversation already, and while I think that is premature, his team is 19-41 after all, it won’t be long (next year), where that conversation will be a real thing.

The Timberwolves are sporting back to back number one picks on their roster, and with Towns as the lead dog and Andrew Wiggins as his top flight sidekick, the playoffs might only be a few years away for the young Wolves.