The NBA’s usual award season is in flux in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Under normal circumstances, the regular season would be over by this point and voting would have taken place on the league’s major awards. This year, however, it’s still unclear if or when the season will resume after being suspended in March, creating uncertainty about whether players will get any more regular season games to make their cases for award consideration, and about when voting will take place.
Resolving end-of-season awards is hardly the most pressing concern facing the NBA, but while we wait for further updates on the fate of the ’19/20 season, we’re passing the time with some award-related speculation.
Earlier this week, we asked you to vote on your All-Rookie First Team for 2019/20, and the results of that poll are now in. Here are the players you selected:
- Ja Morant, G (Grizzlies)
- Zion Williamson, F (Pelicans)
- Kendrick Nunn, G (Heat)
- Tyler Herro, G (Heat)
- Brandon Clarke, F (Grizzlies)
As those results show, many of this year’s most impressive rookies could be found on just two clubs, with Memphis and Miami each getting a pair of first-year players on the First Team.
While Morant was expected to have a significant impact after being selected second overall last June, Herro (No. 13), Clarke (No. 21), and Nunn (undrafted in 2018) flew under the radar during the 2019 offseason and have exceeded expectations as rookies. They’re all worthy First Team choices, in my opinion.
Williamson rounds out the team, despite playing just 19 games so far. His per-game numbers (23.6 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 2.2 APG) and his impact on the Pelicans were so impressive that it’s hard to argue with the choice, though I wonder a few voters will leave him off their First Team ballots this summer due to his limited playing time.
Today, we’re moving onto our vote on the 2020 All-Rookie Second Team. Unlike the All-NBA squads, which feature 15 players, there are only a pair of All-Rookie teams, featuring 10 total players. As such, this will be our last All-Rookie poll. We’ll break down the results on Monday.
You can make your picks below for the players you believe are worthy of spots on the All-Rookie Second Team. Be sure to choose five players, regardless of position, then take to the comment section to explain your choices!
Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.
Paschall definitely belongs on the first team….played a very solid season…the numbers don’t tell the full story of his value to the Warriors this season.
What is the rest of story? The Warrior’s record? I’m not against him on the first team but this argument seems week.
paschall, thybull and hachimura deserve it I put ky Bowman and DeAndre hunter as my other 2
1) Ja / Rui / Clarke / Paschall / Zion
2) K-Nunn / Herro / RJ / PJ / Hunter
1 Davis, 2 Paschall, 3 Washington, 4 Thybulle… all these players had impact and some experience starting and at least decent scores in on/off & PER (bonus to soft-PER Thybulle for defense and backup Davis for winning). For my last spot, Rui & MJP had a low on/off and Hunter & Reddish had PERs of 9. I went with 5 Cam Reddish, who came on strong late and played good defense. Hunter may have a future at the 4 but Collins is there now. Cam Johnson is like third string on a weak team.
Ja, Nunn, Herro, PJ Washington, Brandon Clarke
Davis, Reddish, Cam Johnson, Zion, Paschal
…would probably go with thybulle if Zion didnt finish the season