Entering Tuesday’s NBA games, Wizards center Alex Sarr was listed by most sportsbooks as the odds-on favorite to win this season’s Rookie of the Year award, as Zach Harper of The Athletic observes.
It’s no surprise that a No. 2 overall pick like Sarr is in contention for that honor, but his stat line through 34 professional contests isn’t exactly what you’d expect from the Rookie of the Year frontrunner: 11.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.6 blocks in 27.1 minutes per night, with a shooting line of .406/.325/.641.
The Wizards are 5-29 in games Sarr has played and have an abysmal -16.3 net rating during his 920 minutes on the court (they’re at -10.4 in the 909 minutes he hasn’t played).
Sarr has been playing better basketball over the past month-and-a-half, averaging 13.3 PPG and 7.1 RPG with a .409 3PT% in his last 20 appearances, so those betting odds take into account that he’s trending in the right direction. But is he really the best rookie of the 2024/25 class?
That honor initially belonged to Sixers guard Jared McCain, who averaged 15.3 points per game on .460/.383/.875 shooting in his first 23 games of the season. However, McCain will miss the rest of the ’24/25 campaign due to a knee injury.
The 65-game rule doesn’t apply to Rookie of the Year voting, so a player could win the award without reaching the 65-game threshold, but it’s probably safe to assume 23 solid outings won’t be enough for McCain.
Lakers wing Dalton Knecht has been solid, but has certainly come down to earth since a hot streak in November. For the season, he has averages of 9.6 PPG and 3.3 RPG on .461/.347/.800 shooting.
A pair of Grizzlies rookies have played good minutes for the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference — center Zach Edey has averaged 9.9 PPG and 7.5 RPG through 26 games (19 starts), while Jaylen Wells has been a solid three-and-D piece, putting up 11.7 PPG, 3.4 RPG, and 1.7 APG with a .438/.378/.813 shooting line and solid defense through 40 games (35 starts).
Wells might get my Rookie of the Year vote if the season ended today. But both he and Edey will face stiff competition for playing time if Memphis is fully healthy and battling for playoff seeding during the second half of the season. That could put that Grizzlies duo at a disadvantage down the stretch, since players on lottery-bound teams – like Sarr in Washington – will be getting big minutes and racking up gaudier numbers in games that don’t matter all that much.
As Harper notes, Pelicans center Yves Missi, Spurs guard Stephon Castle, Magic forward Tristan Da Silva, Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher, and Wizards guard Carlton Carrington are some of the other first-year players who can be found in oddsmakers’ top 10 choices for Rookie of the Year.
We want to know what you think. Who is your Rookie of the First Half? If you were projecting a full-season Rookie of the Year winner today, who would you pick? Are there any dark-horse candidates you like to enter the mix with big second halves?
Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts!
Tristan da Silva … by far is the best !!
8.5 and 4 with below average shooting numbers makes Tristin by far the best rook in the class???
Might be reaching a little there my friend.
This is a pretty weak rookie class.
And most talking heads said that Reed Sheppard will win ROY.
This draft class is awful. Sarr is T R A S H
If the Blazers trade Ayton and Clingan is about to get 30+ minutes a night for the final 30 games, he’ll definitely be in the conversation.
This draft class is the first in quite a while where I cannot tell you anything about it…
It’s a “wait and see” draft class where we might get a decent player or 2 after 3 years…
Castle is going to have a big second half and win it.
Lots of casuals out today aye..
It’s not a terrible rookie class it just doesn’t have anyone near all star level like previous years.
It’s abit more of a wait and see class where guys are taking time to adjust. No rookie is in a position to have 15/20 shots per game and put up ridiculous numbers.
I think Clingan is going to be tough he just needs the blazers to clear out minutes at centre. Sarr will be tough he’s just adjusting and also the wizards suck. McCain is going to be tough he’s just injured. Risacher I think will take a big leap next year or the following year. Dillingham and Sheppard have been underwhelming but I have no doubt about there ability.
For me Yves Missi has been great, maybe the points per game and rebounds aren’t amazing nor is the teams record but he was thrust into a much bigger role than expected for someone drafted in his position and the defence has also been great.
I’d vote for Missi right now. But, there’s a lot of basketball left to be played.
Im not sure anyone on the roster is safe from the injury bug. Something in the water.
So McCain gets to be a rookie all over again like Embiid…trust the process
I will give it to Sarr! He is by far the most consistent… for now.