As we relayed on Thursday, No. 5 overall pick Ron Holland recently expressed a desire to win the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award in 2024/25.
On the surface, Holland looks like a long shot for that honor. He just turned 19 years old and struggled last season as a member of the G League Ignite with his outside shot (.239 3PT%), overall scoring efficiency (.682 FT%), and turnovers (3.5 per game). The oddsmakers at BetOnline.ag list Holland at +1800 for Rookie of the Year award, with 10 players ahead of him.
Still, it’s not an unreasonable goal for Holland. He should have an opportunity to earn minutes on the rebuilding Pistons, and this year’s Rookie of the Year race looks awfully wide open. A year ago, BetOnline.ag listed Victor Wembanyama as the overwhelming favorite (-150) for the award; this time around, the player with the best odds – Rockets guard Reed Sheppard – is at just +600.
Zaccharie Risacher of the Hawks and Alex Sarr of the Wizards were the top two picks in the 2024 draft, but neither player is expected to make the sort of immediate impact that Wembanyama – or even No. 2 overall pick Brandon Miller – did. They’re listed as the third- and fourth-best bets for Rookie of the Year honors at +850 and +900, respectively.
Sheppard will have to earn minutes in a crowded Rockets rotation, but he showed during his lone college season at Kentucky that he’s capable of providing the sort of outside shooting Houston could use — he made a whopping 52.1% of his three-point attempts in 2023/24.
Grizzlies center Zach Edey, who has the second-best ROY odds at +650, could be a compelling candidate. It remains to be seen how he’ll adjust to the speed and athleticism at the NBA level, but he has a path to playing time in a Memphis frontcourt that no longer features Steven Adams or Xavier Tillman. He also spent four years playing college ball and should be more NBA-ready than many of his fellow lottery picks. Plus, the Grizzlies arguably have more upside in 2024/25 than any other lottery team, so if the team wins 50+ games, that could help Edey in the end-of-season vote.
Spurs guard Stephon Castle (+900), Bulls forward Matas Buzelis (+900), Lakers sharpshooter Dalton Knecht (+1100), Timberwolves guard Rob Dillingham (+1200), Wizards guard Carlton Carrington (+1400), and Trail Blazers center Donovan Clingan (+1600) are some of the other first-year players viewed as Rookie of the Year candidates, but not all of them are locks to be in their teams’ rotations right away. Clingan, for instance, will have to battle Robert Williams and Duop Reath for minutes at center behind presumptive starter Deandre Ayton.
We want to know what you think. If you had to make a Rookie of the Year prediction today, which player would you feel most comfortable picking? Will there be several good contenders for the award or is there a particular rookie you expect to pull away from the pack?
Of the last 10 Rookie of the Year winners, five have been No. 1 overall picks and four others were selected in the top four. Will we deviate from that trend this year and get our first winner outside the top four since No. 36 overall pick Malcolm Brogdon won the 2017 award?
Head to the comment section below to share your thoughts on which of this year’s rookies will make the biggest first-year impact.
It will be interesting to see how impactful Clingan can be, especially if used in short 6 minute stretches so he stays fresh. I am rooting for the UConn boys for ROY
I would start Dyson Daniels at the 2 & DeAndre Hunter at the 3. Feels pretty obv that this is what the Hawks should/will do. But I can def see Risacher possibly getting some starts throughout the season. He’s gonna get consistent rotation pt from day 1 & should be ready to contribute from day 1 given his pro exp/temperament/game. A few other guys might have a higher usage rate (always a big factor in ROY voting) but Zacch will have as big an impact as any rookie this year. Terrance Shannon Jr, Yves Missi & Edey all gonna be candidates as well
I’m going with Stephon Castle for ROTY. He’s more polished than the majority of other candidates and playing next to Wemby should ease some of the slack, pressure-wise. Also having a point guard like CP3 setting him up on offense also works in his favor.
Clingan is a steal at 16 to 1.
Portland is young and they won’t do well. That’ll lessen the chances of Clingan for rookie of the year. Plus DeAndre Ayton stands in the way unless they trade him.
The BLAZERS and hyped young bigs, just don’t seem to end up well.
Everybody in the world seems to say Zach Edey is going to be a good NBA player. Why am I not seeing it?
I said over the spring that he’d be a total flop and have no place in the league. I guess I should retire my young player analysis job?
I have always argued the same, that he will be an afterthought, seems like a lot of people have been converted into believers over the last 6 months. It will be interesting to see how well he guards on the perimeter and in transition, also how well he offensive rebounds.
Yes there’s a couple things that bother me about him. His yet to be seen ability to guard on the perimeter as you say, and he can’t catch a pass. His hands are horrible and it even shows in rebounding. Balls bounce off his hands.
But I’m in the minority so hopefully his hard work pays off for him. I know he’s a good kid.., I just don’t have confidence in his game.
It’s because you guys love small ball basketball. 6’5 CENTERS OH YEAH!!!!!!!!!!! I love 3 pointers
Yeah you should. That’s a dumb take. I’ll come back when he wins ROTY.
ROY ……. Dalton Knecht.
The “Steal of the draft” is a far more interesting award than ROY…. if it was ever polled or awarded, even informally.
carrington it is.
Agree, definitely worth a few bucks anyways. Should get good minutes while wizards tank.
I hope Clingan has as much impact as he did in summer league, if he does he will be ROY. If not I’m going with Bub Carrington, he was a steal and a great athlete. Why the blazers drafted him and traded him makes no sense. They missed out on a player who could have helped them now.