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As other All-Rookie Teams trickle in, you’ll read and/or hear plenty of people dumping on this class. I’ll try not to be that guy. No, there won’t be a crop of All-NBA players coming from the 2024 draft, but there are plenty of young bucks with the potential for long, productive NBA careers.

Ranking the new blood is hard. Some players are given free rein to experiment, trying new things and chucking whatever shots they want. Others land on teams trying to win now and are pigeonholed into specific (usually lower-usage) roles. Box score numbers, while considered, need even more context here than when determining All-NBA and other postseason awards.

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Season-long statistics can be misleading for players who may not have gotten a full opportunity until later in the season. This won’t be a simple rank-ordering of points per game (which I suspect will be somewhat true of the actual honors given out by the league, if history is any indication).

Note that these rankings consider the full season but give a little more weight to what guys have done in their expanded opportunities. I like to see a player’s proof of concept, not just inning-eating numbers.

In summary, I’m likely to lean toward the guys I think are better, regardless of whether they’re a point per game behind someone else or whatever.

Let’s start with First Team, where there were four no-brainers (for me) and one tough decision. In total, I picked three teams, one more than is traditionally chosen, to spread the love around.

First Team All-Rookie:

Jared McCain, Philadelphia 76ers

Yes, Jared McCain has only played 23 games. There isn’t a player participation rule for All-Rookie, thankfully, and McCain really was just that much better than everyone when he played.

While I’m not sure McCain will end up with a better overall career than everyone else from this class, he is the guy I’m most confident will have a productive, high-level career.

You rarely see rookies put up the scoring and efficiency numbers that McCain did in his short stint. He averaged 21.4 points per 36 minutes (leading all rookies with at least 10 games played) on 59% true shooting, an above-average mark for the league as a whole. He did that while putting up a significant volume of three-pointers and competing about as well defensively as an undersized rookie guard could be expected to (which is to say, not great, but not disastrously!).

We haven’t seen McCain play this calendar year, so here’s a reminder of what he was casually doing all season:

The confidence to take a coast-to-coast stepback three (with Tyrese Maxey on the court!) is breathtaking. He never felt like a rookie, even when Maxey, Paul George, or Joel Embiid shared the floor with him.

I also have a soft spot for McCain because I suffered the same injury as him (torn meniscus) just a few weeks before he did, so I like to think we’re battling through the same rigorous rehab. Solidarity, brother!

Voters will not put McCain on an All-Rookie team because he’s missed too much time, and that’s probably for the best. But this is my blog, dammit, and he makes the cut.

Stephon Castle, San Antonio Spurs

Castle is definitely the most fun rookie we’ve seen this year. I went long on Castle a few months ago, and everything I wrote about him earlier this season remains valid: he’s a hard-defending, confident, athletic, versatile guard who has, like most rookies, struggled to put the ball in the basket. His shooting has been execrable everywhere except at the rim (the boxed number is his positional percentile):

Castle might have the highest two-way ceiling of any rookie drafted this year, including McCain. Like almost all perimeter players, his shooting improvement (or lack thereof) will be his limiting factor.

Castle will likely be a unanimous First Teamer and has a strong ROY case, even with his efficiency issues.

Zaccharie Risacher, Atlanta Hawks

Risacher was thrust into a big role almost from Day One, and while most big-minute rookies hit the dreaded wall in late winter, Risacher climbed that thing like a long-limbed lemur.

Before January 6th: 36 games, 10.8 points on 4.3 3PA and 40/28 percent shooting splits

After January 6th: 31 games, 14.3 points on 4.9 3PA, 51/42 percent shooting splits

42% from deep for half the season is no joke!

Risacher has combined that offensive improvement with a season-long commitment to the little things. He’s a strong team defender, a clever cutter and spacer, and a far better passer than his 1.2 assists per game would indicate. When people talk about feel, they mean plays like this pick-and-pass:

Risacher will never make an All-Star game without substantial on-ball skill improvement. But the Atlanta Hawks deserve some credit for the bravery to take a low-ceiling but high-floor player in a year when there was nothing even approaching a sure-fire star. People love to say top picks need to be potential superstars, which Risacher is not; but if there are no players with a clear path to superstardom, why not take someone with a well-lit road to relevance?

Risacher has been a legitimately valuable NBA player on a team trying to win games for half the season, something few rookies any year can say.

Jaylen Wells, Memphis Grizzlies

Wells is the reverse Risacher. Both wings were immediately handed large roles on competitive teams, but where Risacher hurdled the rookie wall, Wells ran smack into it. Wells shot just 33% from the field and 27% from deep in 16 March games, which is directly related to the Grizzlies (once the two-seed in the West) going just 6-10 while currently occupying the sixth seed.

That shouldn’t detract from his excellent start to the season. Wells takes on the other team’s best guard (his top matchups include Devin Booker, Jalen Green, and Anthony Edwards) and is plenty involved in the Grizzlies’ offense. He’s aggressive attacking closeouts and has finished two-thirds of his attempts at the rim, a good number for anyone and a great one for a rookie.

This isn’t his coolest highlight or anything, but I literally laughed out loud at how many times he pass-faked/elbowed the defender out of the way before laying it up:

Zach Edey, Memphis Grizzlies

Edey has been exactly as advertised. The Grizzlies haven’t used him as much in the pick-and-roll as most expected, although that is changing under new coach Tuomas Iisalo. He has pretty good rim protection numbers, but he’s looked out of place defending the P&R (and boy did Steph Curry take advantage last night). His playing time has fluctuated dramatically, and he’s had some foul trouble, typical for a rookie big.

He’s also a hungry offensive rebounder and a brick wall of a screen-setter. People can see whatever they want to see in Edey; his strengths and weaknesses were relatively well-known entering the draft and have played out as expected in the NBA. There’s a useful player here, but he’ll need to rediscover his hook shot (just 37% from the short midrange) to be a real offensive weapon down low.

That said, he’s been a contributor on a likely playoff team whose impact should grow, not lessen, going forward (his 32-minute, 10-point, 16-rebound game on April Fool’s Day is proof). That matters.

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All-Rookie Second Team

Kel’el Ware, Miami Heat

It took him a while to earn coach Erik Spoelstra’s trust, but Ware has emerged as a tentacled terror in the middle. He’s one of the longest dudes in the league, which shows in the sheer number of alley-oops he collects (although a surprising number rattle around the rim instead of flushing through with force).

Ware is taking a couple of threes per game and hitting the occasional wide-open one. That’s a promising start, but it’s certainly not a reliable weapon yet. He and Bam Adebayo (quietly hitting 40% from deep on three attempts per game since Jimmy Butler left) have a lot of potential as a duo capable of playing inside or out, but that’s projection, not reality.

Ware is still learning to defend at the NBA level, but he’s already a good shotblocker and great rebounder. We’ll be hearing a lot more from him in coming seasons.

Justin Edwards, Philadelphia 76ers

Edwards didn’t get much of a chance until halfway through the season, but he’s been a beast ever since. The rookie, who was at one point the highest-ranked high school prospect in the nation, had an underwhelming freshman year at Kentucky before going undrafted.

Edwards has exploded for the injury-ravaged 76ers, however. Since 2025 started, he’s averaged nearly 11 points per game (sixth among rookies) while canning 37% from deep and showcasing some fun defensive playmaking:

Consistency is an issue, but Edwards has energy, both kinetic and potential. A muscular 6’6” wing with self-creation, off-ball shooting, and defense is a fit on any roster in the league. Add some seasoning to him, and you’ll get at worst a decent 3-and-D reserve and at best a two-way starting scoring option with positional flexibility.

It’s been a season of disappointment in Philadelphia, but that doesn’t mean everything is lost.

Yves Missi, New Orleans Pelicans

Like Edwards, Missi has been a silver lining in an ugly season. The Pelicans rely on the rookie center. He brings try-hard hustle, rim protection, and just a La Croix-level hint of untapped self-creation for a big man.

There’s a bit of Onyeka Okongwu to Missi’s game (albeit without the important three-point shot). He’s averaging more rebounds per game than any rookie, and although he has struggled to finish at the rack, he’s at least pretty good about cleaning up his own misses.

I’m not sure if Missi ends up a starting-caliber center in the long run, but there’s always room in a team’s garage for a guy with his motor. For someone drafted in the 20s, that’s a huge win.

Kyle Filipowski, Utah Jazz

The early second-round pick has looked a whole lot like Kelly Olynyk, and I don’t just mean through their severe lack of melanin.

Filipowski has been one of the best three-point shooters in his class, knocking down 38% of his nearly 200 attempts on the year, hitting hooks and fadeaways, and showcasing a pretty passing touch. The offense is real.

Unfortunately, the defense has been predictably terrible. Filipowski offers even less rim protection than I would have expected (his 0.5% block rate is lower than Steph Curry or CJ McCollum’s), and while he can move his feet a little bit, he’ll never be Bam Adebayo on the perimeter.

Kelly Olynyk manufactured himself into a just-barely-good-enough defender through deflections and charges. Proper positioning, learned through years of hard work, can somewhat compensate for a physical deficit. Filipowski is already a better rebounder than KO, but if he can’t figure out how to alter shots at the rim, he’ll need to study some of the tricks of the trade.

Donovan Clingan, Portland Trail Blazers

The last spot on the Second Team came down to two very different centers: Donovan Clingan and Alex Sarr.

Clingan is already one of the better defensive centers in the league, at least as long as he can stay in the paint. He’s a freaky rim protector despite little vertical pop, but that 9’7” standing reach can envelop shots like a Mother’s Day card without Clingan ever leaving the ground.

What’s fun about having a two-inch vertical is that there’s no need to load up. He eats up space with surprising short-burst alacrity. You would not believe how many people think they have him beat and just… don’t:

There are plenty of holes in Clingan’s burgeoning game. The fouling is a problem, and he doesn’t do much offensively right now besides set screens. But with a steady starting role, Clingan is a guy who should be competing for All-Defensive Teams in the very near future. That’s enough for him to claim the last Second Team spot over Sarr.

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All-Rookie Third Team

Alex Sarr, Washington Wizards

Sarr is a rookie box-score leader, averaging 13 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.6 blocks per game on the season, but these are the definition of empty calories on a Wizards team force-feeding him reps.

He’s got legitimate handling and passing for a seven-footer, and he’s an excellent weakside shot-swatter. Shades of a Jaren Jackson Jr.-type player with better court vision abound. 32% from deep surely isn’t good, but Sarr puts them up with confidence. I really like Sarr’s game, in theory, and he can be quite enjoyable to watch.

But Sarr is just so unbelievably weak around the rim on both sides that he can’t really play center, and he isn’t quick or fluid enough yet to play power forward. Guys go through him like a chainsaw through butter, and he can’t physically impose himself on offense, either.

Right now, Sarr is shooting under 40% from the field! Even for a more perimeter-oriented center, that’s blindingly bad, and you could argue he’s been one of the league’s most damaging players (not that the Wizards care right now!). He’ll get better, of course, but he has a long way to go before he can be a productive player on a winning team.

Washington fans, take heart. Sarr will almost certainly make All-Rookie First Team through sheer statistical accumulation.

Kyshawn George, Washington Wizards

There are a lot of similarities between George and his teammate Sarr. Both put up a lot of threes without making them, both have had significant defensive highlights, both are already pretty good passers, and both are absolutely incapable of putting the ball in the basket (for George: 37% from the field, 32% from deep).

George already has a lot of the ancillary skills you need to succeed as a wing in the NBA, and he has an unusual knack for the ball. Before he got hurt, he’d had seven games in his last eight with at least three stocks (steals+blocks). George doesn’t quite have the burst to consistently get to or finish at the rack, but that won’t be as problematic on a team with superior ballhandlers.

Out of all of Washington’s rookies, George is the one who has the cleanest path to a solid NBA career.

Quinten Post, Golden State Warriors

Other rookies have played more and accumulated bigger box scores. But Post is playing an extremely important role for a Golden State Warriors team that essentially turned red-hot the moment he entered the rotation (and it was definitely because of him; no other reason involved).

He’s not really great at traditional center things (43% at the rim???), but he’s good enough of a rebounder and big enough to bang bodies with fellow behemoths. Some untapped passing ability aside, Post is on the court for one reason, and one reason only: to jack up threes like they’ve got a flat tire.

Post is trebucheting 13.1 triples per 100 possessions, a ludicrous mark for a rookie center (or any center at all). For comparison, Duncan Robinson is at 13.3, and Victor Wembanyama is at 12.8. He’s also making 41% of them. The sample sizes are still small, but if Post can keep this up, he’ll have a real claim to being one of the best catch-and-shooters in the league — full stop.

Post’s wild success from deep is a key component of the Jimmy Butler/Draymond Green duo. Watching when and where coach Steve Kerr trusts Post in the postseason will be a tiny but fascinating subplot.

One demerit: he spells his name in an annoying way (sorry to any other Quintens out there, but it’s true!)

Jamal Shead, Toronto Raptors

Shead has been everything we expected on defense and far better than consensus on offense. He’s proven he can be a capable reserve in the NBA already, and there aren’t many rookies who can say that.

Shead has finished respectably at the rim despite his sub-6’0” height and makes more threes than your typical rookie. But his on-ball defense is his calling card.

Bigger players can go through him, and taller ones can shoot over him. But nobody of any size wants Shead near their dribble. Look at him rocket into the ball:

Shead will have to work hard to become more than an eighth man on a good team, but I’m encouraged by what I’ve seen so far.

Dalton Knecht, Los Angeles Lakers

Last spot came down to Knecht or Bub Carrington, but even though Carrington (the league leader in minutes played for a rookie!) has carried a larger load, Knecht’s highs have been much higher. If their positions were flipped, I think Knecht would be talked about as a First Team candidate, while Carrington (like Knecht) would struggle to hold onto a Lakers rotation spot.

Knecht’s defense is problematic, but the league will always welcome a shooter of his caliber with size. He’s had two 30-point games already, showing a far higher ceiling than any rookie we haven’t mentioned yet. He’s also surprisingly springy when given runway for a two-legged jump.

The Lakers seem primed for a playoff series or two, and I bet Knecht’s scoring swings at least one game.

Honorable Mention:

Washington’s Bub Carrington (a sneaky-good rebounder with a nice pull-up middie who needs to improve his defense and athleticism); Chicago’s Matas Buzelis (who will not, in fact, win Rookie of the Year); Phoenix’s Ryan Dunn (the funhouse-mirror Knecht); Utah’s Isaiah Collier (my second-favorite rookie to watch after Stephon Castle but who is just so unbelievably profligate with the ball); Orlando’s Tristan da Silva (a tough cut as he mostly fell out of the rotation in February and March); Detroit’s Ron Holland (a defensive menace); Oklahoma City’s Ajay Mitchell (injured, but not forgotten); half of Toronto’s rotation

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