NBA Rookie of the Year (ROTY) Power Rankings featuring Josh Giddey, Evan Mobley and more | February 15th, 2022

The race for the NBA Rookie of the Year is heating up. The top five remain solid despite the injury to Cade Cunningham, who made his return in the latter part of last week.

The middle of the pack continues to shuffle this week as the league heads toward All-Star Weekend, wherein a lot of rookies are invited to participate in several activities.

A total of 12 rookies were invited for the Rising Stars Challenge. Cunningham, Josh Giddey, Evan Mobley and Scottie Barnes will participate in the Skills Challenge. Second overall pick Jalen Green of the Houston Rockets is in the Slam Dunk Contest.

But before heading into All-Star Weekend, let's take a look at this week's NBA Rookie of the Year power rankings.

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#5 Cade Cunningham

Cade Cunningham of the Detroit Pistons.

Previous week's NBA ROTY Power Ranking - #5

Last Week: Games played - 2; Games won - 0; Games lost - 2

Overall: Games played - 43; Games won - 11; Games lost - 32

Last Week: PPG - 12.0, APG - 3.0, RPG - 4.5

Overall: PPG - 15.6, APG - 5.1, RPG - 5.4

Last Week: FG% - 34.5%, 3P% - 20.0%, SPG - 1.5

Overall: FG% - 39.5%, 3P% - 32.3%, SPG - 1.3

Cade Cunningham of the Detroit Pistons returned to the lineup last week after recovering from a hip injury. Cunningham played in just two games, averaging 12.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists in two games.

He struggled with his shot, but it was understandable as he almost missed two weeks due to the injury.

Despite playing just two games last week, Cunningham remains at number five in this week's NBA Rookie of the Year power rankings. He's still capable of putting up big numbers and climbing higher, but he has to avoid further injuries.

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#4 Scottie Barnes

Scottie Barnes of the Toronto Raptors.

Previous week’s NBA ROTY Power Ranking - #2

Last Week: Games played - 4; Games won - 2; Games lost - 2

Overall: Games played - 48; Games won - 26; Games lost - 22

Last Week: PPG - 12.0, APG - 2.8, RPG - 4.5

Overall: PPG - 14.5, APG - 3.3, RPG - 7.5

Last Week: FG% - 42.9%, 3P% - 22.2%, FT% - 76.9%

Overall: FG% - 47.0%, 3P% - 31.3%, FT% - 73.3%

Scottie Barnes of the Toronto Raptors has come back down to Earth, moving down to the fourth spot in this week's NBA Rookie of the Year power rankings. In four games, Barnes averaged just 12.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists.

It was an up-and-down week for the rookie, as he had two single-digit scoring games.

Barnes started off last week with a 17-point performance against the OKC Thunder before a nine-point effort versus the Houston Rockets.

He bounced back with another 17 points against the Denver Nuggets before finishing the week with a five-point dud in New Orleans.

#3 Franz Wagner

Franz Wagner of the Orlando Magic.

Previous week's NBA ROTY Power Ranking - #4

Last Week: Games played - 4; Games won - 1; Games lost - 3

Overall: Games played - 59; Games won - 13; Games lost - 46

Last Week: PPG - 15.0, APG - 4.3, RPG - 5.0

Overall: PPG - 15.6, APG - 3.0, RPG - 4.6

Last Week: FG% - 44.7%, 3P% - 47.4%, FT% - 90.0%

Overall: FG% - 46.5%, 3P% - 36.2%, FT% - 85.3%

Franz Wagner of the Orlando Magic climbs up to the third spot in this week's NBA Rookie of the Year power rankings.

Wagner once again proved that he's the Iron Man of their rookie class, playing in all of the Magic's four games last week. He's the only rookie to play in all of their team's game this season.

Wagner averaged 15.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game last week. He continues to improve on every facet of the game. Wagner showed off his passing against the Portland Trail Blazers, while exploding for 26 points in Denver.

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#2 Josh Giddey

Josh Giddey of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Previous week's NBA ROTY Power Ranking - #3

Last Week: Games played - 4; Games won - 1; Games lost - 3

Overall: Games played - 52; Games won - 17; Games lost - 35

Last Week: PPG - 15.3, APG - 8.3, RPG - 9.8

Overall: PPG - 12.3, APG - 6.3, RPG - 7.7

Last Week: FG% - 46.0%, 3P% - 50.0%, SPG - 0.5

Overall: FG% - 41.8%, 3P% - 26.7%, SPG - 0.9

Josh Giddey is working his way towards another Rookie of the Month honors with his current play for the OKC Thunder for February.

In four games last week, Giddey averaged 15.3 points, 9.8 rebounds and 8.3 assists in the absence of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

The Australian star also registered two straight triple doubles to end the week. Giddey now has three triple doubles in his career. It's the reason why he takes the second spot in this week's NBA Rookie of the Year power rankings.

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#1 Evan Mobley

Evan Mobley of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Previous week’s NBA ROTY Power Ranking - #1

Last Week: Games played - 4; Games won - 3; Games lost - 1

Overall: Games played - 50; Games won - 33; Games lost - 17

Last Week: PPG - 11.5, APG - 1.5, RPG - 6.5

Overall: PPG - 14.7, APG - 2.5, RPG - 8.0

Last Week: FG% - 47.2%, 3P% - 0.0%, BPG - 1.8

Overall: FG% - 50.2%, 3P% - 27.3%, BPG - 1.7

Evan Mobley of the Cleveland Cavaliers remains atop the NBA Rookie of the Year power rankings for this week.

That's despite Mobley averaging just 11.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game last week. Mobley remains a defensive presence for the Cavaliers, which is not shown on the stat sheet.

However, Mobley has to start producing more on the offensive end in the coming week if he wants to remain number one in the rankings. Josh Giddey is playing out of his mind at the moment and he could force his way to the top.