NBA Rookie Ladder: 2023-24 Rookie of the Year Award Rankings: December Update
A little over a month into this NBA Season we’ve got a better handle on how our Rookies are adjusting to the pro game. We’ve had some major shake ups to the rankings due to missed games from injury, players stepping into new roles that have opened up from vet injuries, and shooting slump/streaks so buckle up and let’s climb!
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Dropping out: Due to some serious nagging injuries and a major amount of missed games Amen Thompsom (4), and Scoot Henderson (10), are going to drop out of our rankings this month. Gradey Dick (HM) seems to have also fallen behind the pack and is barely hanging on to minutes in Toronto so he’s going to fall out of our rankings too.
Updated Honorable Mentions: Julian Strawther (Denver Nuggets),Marcus Sasser (Detroit Pistons, new), Tourmani Camara (Portland Trailblazers), Sasha Vezenkov (Sacramento Kings [6]), Anthony Black (Orlando Magic, returning from unranked).
10. Bilal Coulibaly – SF/PF – Washington Wizards (Formerly Honorable Mention)
Quickly becoming a bright spot on a kind of hopeless Wizards team, Bilal is someone who does the little things Jordan Poole never will. He seems to really enjoy playing defense and leveraging his athleticism on both ends. Look for him to be a nightly fixture on “how did he block/steal that?” tweets when people actually start watching Wizards games again.
9. Cason Wallace – PG/SG – Oklahoma City Thunder (-2)
Cason has slipped a little in these rankings but it’s only due to the minutes crunch that a returning MVP candidate brings. Cason is perfect for the OKC bench unit and, depending on rumored legal actions involving OKC starters, would be perfectly capable of coming back into the starting fold. He brings steady and efficient offense to a team that values it.
8. Derek Lively III – C – Dallas Mavericks (+1)
The Mavs are good when Lively plays and bad when he doesn’t… It’s pretty simple. Duke’s coaching staff has to be kicking themselves a little bit with how they obviously wiffed on his usage. Derek is way more important to his team than a team like Dallas probably wants him to be but that’s ok here.
7. Keyonte George – PG/SG – Utah Jazz (Formerly Honorable Mention)
No, Jazz fans, Keyonte George is not the new Halliburton. He is however really good for a really bad Jazz team. He is one of the best rookie guards in this class. He’s leading rookies in assists by almost 2 a game.
6. Jamie Jaquez Jr – SF/PF – Miami Heat (+2)
How do the heat keep finding these guys? Jaquez is going to be a major piece for this team moving forward. I don’t really care that he’s older and not the high upside play. He’s a solid contributor that can play mulitipositional defense and can score in the system. His minutes just keep rising for him as Erik Spolstra trusts him more and more.
5. Brandon Miller – SF/PF – Charlotte Hornets (-2)
Like Cason Wallace, Brandon Miller is losing minutes to a player coming back from a team absence. Unlike Wallace, Miller is losing minutes to a domestic abuser who shouldn’t be in the league at all. I genuinely hate this for Miller because it’s not like the Hornets are going to win enough games to be competitive anyway.
4. Jordan Hawkins – SG/SF – New Orleans Pelicans (Unranked)
Hawkins is by far the biggest riser of the year. He’s actually leading all rookies in total minutes. His blistering shooting is causing havock by giving space for Zion Williamson. The shooting he provides should keep him easily getting minutes even with the imminent return of CJ McCollum.
3. Ausar Thompson – SF/SG – Detroit Pistons (+2)
6’6” Rookie wings are not supposed to average over 9.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks… Ausar is possibly the most athletic player in the league already. The Pistons are possibly the worst team in the league but they’re far from a team you wouldn’t want to watch, especially witht the athleticism Ausar puts on display nightly.
2. Victor Wembanyama – Space Alien – San Antonio Spurs (-1)
Wemby is really good… but the Spurs are really bad. Like really, really bad. Wemby is really feeling the absence of Devin Vassell. He’s also bearing a lot of the growing pangs of the “Can Jeremy Sochan be a Point Guard?” experience. Wemby is still leading rookies in scoring, steals, and blocks so he’s still great. It’s just a shame we can’t see him with a little less on his plate.
1. Chet Holmgren – C/PF – Oklahoma City Thunder (+1)
Before Spurs fans go all “Donovan Mitchell” on me about Chet not being a rookie… Wemby’s been playing pro ball for like five years so even by the definition of the Mitchell shirt, that argument doesn’t hold up. Chet has been a revelation. He’s neck and neck with Wemby in all the counting stats but is significantly more efficient. Chet is helping to turn OKC into a real dark horse contender.
Jonathan Ennis
Jonathan is a former basketball coach and current mega fan. He’s the co-host of the Assisted Development Podcast and can be found on Twitter at @PastorPostUp!