Seemingly everyone loves to keep tabs on the NBA’s freshest crop of rookies. We, here at the TheHoopDoctors.com are no different, as we rank the league’s top rookie players every month, helping to get you up to caught up on how the NBA’s stars of the future are handling the grind of their first 82 game season.
In our last rankings, it was a no brainer at the top with Tyreke Evans and Brandon Jennings in basically a two horse race for the NBA Rookie of the Year Award. Rounding out the Top 5 were Sacramento’s other rookie, Omri Casspi, Denver’s Ty Lawson, and Golden State’s Steph Curry. Now that we are in March, most rookies start to show what they are made of by either hitting the proverbial “rookie wall” or continuing to progress into good NBA players. Will Tyreke Evans’ recent run of fantastic play keep him at #1 or will Brandon Jennings or Steph Curry overtake him?
These rankings are just one writer’s opinions. Please let us know if you agree or disagree and who we may have missed by leaving a comment.
1) Tyreke Evans
20.1 ppg, 5 rebs, 5.5 ast, 1.5 stl, .461 FG%, .250 3PT%, .744 FT%
Previous – 1 Drafted – 4
Tyreke remains our top pick even though a few other players have started to play catch-up. Since Feb 20th, he has scored in double figures in all but 1 game and has hit the 20 point plateau in 7 of 11 games. He leads all rookies in scoring and minutes and is 2nd in steals, 3rd in assists, and 4th in rebounds. The only chink in his armor appears to be 3 point shooting. He is attempting to become only the 4th rookie in NBA history to average 20 pts, 5 rebs, and 5 ast, along with Robertson, Jordan, and James.
2) Stephen Curry
16 ppg, 4.2 rebs, 5.4 ast, 1.8 stl, .454 FG%, .414 3PT%, .870 FT%
Previous – 5 Drafted – 7
Since the All Star break, Curry has been arguably the NBA’s best rookie and has made up considerable ground on the front-running Evans. While Monta Ellis was out in GS, Curry has taken over as Don Nelson’s #1 offensive threat. When Ellis and Curry are on the floor together, Curry defers too much. Since mid February, he has scored 20 or more 8 times, 6 double doubles, and 1 triple double. Among rookies, he ranks 1st in steals, 2nd in scoring, 3rd in assists, and 2nd in 3 point percentage.
3) Brandon Jennings
15.9 ppg, 3.5 rebs, 6.1 ast, 1.3 stl, .369 FG%, .383 3PT%, .812 FT%
Previous – 2 Drafted – 10
During February, Jennings struggled with both his shooting and aggressiveness by shooting only 30% from the field while he took less than 10 shots in a game 6 times. In March, he appears to be back on track by averaging 15 ppg and 6 ast as coincidentally the Bucks have yet to lose a game this month(5-0). He ranks 3rd in scoring, 1st in assists, and 3rd in steals.
4)Darren Collison
11 ppg, 2.4 rebs, 5.2 ast, 1 stl, .459 FG%, .349 3PT%, .839 FT%
Previous – NR Drafted – 21
With Chris Paul side-lined in New Orleans, Collison has excelled as the starting point guard by having some spectacular games in his absence. He has averaged 22 ppg, 9 ast, and 2 steals since Feb 5th. Collison has been remarkable by notching a triple double(18 pts, 13 rebs, 12 ast) on Feb 19th vs Indiana and already has had 4 games of 15 or more assists this season. The Hornets would be wise to find time on the floor for Collison once Paul returns. He ranks 8th in scoring, 4th in assists, and 6th in steals.
5) Marcus Thornton
13 ppg, 2.7 rebs, 1.1 ast, .448 FG%, ..403 3PT%, ..802 FT%
Previous – NR Drafted – 43
Since Feb 17th, Thornton has been scoring at will to a clip of 18 ppg, including a 37 point explosion vs Cleveland and 6 other games of 20+ points. The 6’4 player out of LSU is starting to look like a steal in the draft for the Hornets but the question remains, why isn’t he starting over Mo Peterson? Thornton ranks 5th in scoring and 3rd in 3 point percentage.
6) Jonny Flynn
13.6 ppg, 2.4 rebs, 4.4 ast, ..418 FG%, ..349 3PT%, ..822 FT%
Previous – 6 Drafted – 6
Jonny has had a wildly inconsistent first season in Minnesota. He continues to start at the point since he has scored in double figures in 13 of 17 games since Feb 5th but has struggled at times with turnovers. While he has averaged 4.4 ast on the season, he also has averaged 4 turnovers over the same span. With Ricky Rubio possibly coming to the states next season, Flynn should concentrate on taking care of the rock for the remainder of this year. Flynn ranks 4th in scoring, 5th in assists, and 4th in steals.
7) Ty Lawson
9 ppg, 2.1 rebs, 3.3 ast, 1 stl, .514 FG%, .432 3PT %, .773 FT%
Previous – 4 Drafted – 18
Like a lot of his Denver teammates, Lawson has missed some time recently due to an injured shoulder, hence the drop in our rankings. He has had a remarkably good season considering he gets back-up minutes at the point in Denver behind Chauncey Billups, While Chauncey was out, Lawson took excellent care of the basketball and even had a few good scoring nights of 25, 15, and 13 points, while averaging 5 assists. Ty ranks 11th in scoring, 6th in assists, and 1st in 3 pt shooting.
8 ) Taj Gibson
8.5 ppg, 7 rebs, 1.2 blk, .497 FG%, .801 FT%
Previous – 9 Drafted – 26
Although Gibson’s numbers have dipped recently due to some ailing feet, he has helped to solidify the Bulls front-court by providing rebounding and shot blocking. Even his scoring is coming around by reaching double figures in 8 of 14 games since Feb 17th. He has also collected 10 or more rebounds 7 times in the same span. The Bulls can ill afford Gibson to miss time with injuries to Noah. Gibson ranks 1st in rebounding and blocks, as well as 6th in FG%.
9) Omri Casspi
11.3 ppg, 4.8 rebs, 1.3 ast, 1 stl, .457 FG%, .369 3PT%, .675 FT%
Previous – 3 Drafted – 23
Casspi has hit the rookie wall and appears tired from the grueling 82 game season, so much so that he has been reduced to under 20 mins per game in 6 of 7 games this month after playing starting minutes in February. Not to worry Sacramento, Casspi has proven to be a valuable player for years to come at the SF position. He drops in our rankings since he has averaged only 6 points and 3 rebounds in March. Casspi still ranks 6th in scoring and rebounding.
10) James Harden
9.9 ppg, 3.3 rebs, 2 ast, 1.1 stl, .391 FG%, .377 3PT%, .815 FT%
Previous – 8 Drafted – 3
A strained hamstring has limited Harden recently but continues to provide an offensive spark off the bench for OKC. Before injuring his hammy, James was hot averaging 17 ppg while shooting 50% from 3 in March. Kevin Durant hopes he returns soon. Harden ranks 8th in scoring, 5th in steals, and 8th in 3 point shooting.
Honorable Mention:
Jonas Jerebko, Detroit
The Swedish superstar’s minutes have been disintegrating with the return of Tayshawn Prince and Rip Hamilton from injuries, but Jonas still is averaging 9 points and 6 rebounds per night.
DeJuan Blair, San Antonio
When he gets minutes he produces. In 32 mins vs New Orleans, Blair had 10 points and 12 boards and still ranks 2nd among rookies in rebounding at 6.2 reb/gm.
Rodrigue Beaubois, Dallas
Although he is only averaging 6 points and 1.4 assists on the year, Roddy has taken up the slack in the injured Jason Terry’s absence by putting up 18.5 ppg, 3.5 rebs, and 3.5 ast in March.
Jrue Holiday, Philadelphia
The only good thing in Philly is that Holiday now gets to show what he’s got with Iverson now gone from the team. He has had back to back 20+ point games while averaging 13.4 ppg and 6.2 assists in March.
Terrance Williams, New Jersey
After struggling to find minutes in January and February, “T-Will” is being given a chance in March(30 mpg) and is responding by averaging 13 ppg, 6.5 rebs, and 6 ast in 4 games.
Allen Moll is an avid NBA and College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen is a regular columnist for thehoopdoctors.com, Bleacherreport.com, UpperDeckblog.com, and his own site, Hoops Haven.
Be sure to sign-up and follow Allen, who has been chosen to participate in the 2010 Last Fan Standing College Basketball Elimination Game. It is a NCAA Tourney game with a twist. 64 of the nation’s best sports bloggers were selected, bracket style, with each getting one of the 64 teams in the tournament. While the writers submit unique and interesting content, fans and followers have the chance to win new laptops, a weekend getaway to the Mirage in Las Vegas during Final Four weekend, or even a trip to see the National Championship Game in Indianapolis. All you have to do is sign-up at Lastfanstanding.com and continue to visit the site and vote up Allen’s articles, starting on Wednesday, March 17th, to win prizes. The farther he advances in the brackets, the more prizes you could win!
