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Awards season has begun. The NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year will kick off the announcements before finishing with the MVP at a date to be determined. Following the presentations of the six major awards, All-NBA Teams, All-Defensive Teams, and All-Rookie Teams will be announced in May.<\/p>\n
The Chicago Bulls are without a finalist in all six categories\u2014one of 16 teams without a finalist. Nevertheless, the Bulls are the NBA’s only team to feature an award winner for all six major awards at least once in the last 25 years. Chicago is no stranger to award season.<\/p>\n
While this campaign failed to yield a distinguished talent, one player is well on his way to earning a spot on an NBA All-Rookie Team. Matas Buzelis, Chicago’s 11th-overall pick, isn’t up for Rookie of the Year, but with averages of 8.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.2 three-pointers, and 0.9 blocks per game, Buzelis is in the running for one of 10 exclusive spots. Below, we’ve projected which rookies land the 10 slots available.<\/p>\n
Washington Wizards’ guard Bub Carrington was one of the youngest players in the association, turning 19 last July. Despite his inexperience, Carrington started right away for the Wizards. Results weren’t pretty, but Carrington turned it on at the tail end of the season. In April, the combo guard averaged 17.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 7.1 assists per game.<\/p>\n
Buzelis ultimately lands on the second team. After beginning the season buried on Chicago’s bench, the 6-foot-10 forward entered the starting lineup in early February. Buzelis averaged 13.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.9 assists while converting 47.3 percent of his field goals and 34.9 percent of his triples as a starter. If the 20-year-old had seen an elevated role all season, he’d likely have a first-team argument.<\/p>\n
Like Carrington, Kyle Filipowski came on late in the season. However, unlike Bub, he wasn’t given ample opportunity at the beginning of the campaign. The Duke product finished the season averaging 9.6 points and 6.1 rebounds, demonstrating impressive stretch-big potential.<\/p>\n
New Orleans Pelicans’ big man Yves Missi was drafted into an opportune situation\u2014a solid team, without a reliable big. Unfortunately, injuries decimated the Pelicans, and the team never got back on track. Yet, Missi led New Orleans in games played and executed his role perfectly. The 6-foot-11 big averaged 9.1 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.3 blocks per game, and placed 16th in the league in dunks.<\/p>\n
Coincidentally, the only rookie to best Missi’s 116 dunks was Miami Heat’s Kel’el Ware. The 7-foot big man threw down 128 jams in only 64 appearances. Ware suited up next to Bam Adebayo and filled Miami’s need for a traditional center. However, Ware still put his uniqueness on display, knocking down 35 three-pointers as a rookie.<\/p>\n
First up is San Antonio guard Stephon Castle\u2014Pippen Ain’t Easy’s vote for Rookie of the Year. The Spurs’ guard took on loads of responsibility and turned in a respectable rookie season. No rookie averaged more points than the former Husky. While there are surely to be groans of Castle’s inefficiency, his counting stats impressed, and he certainly passed the eye test. A Castle-Wembanyama pairing has the potential to be one of the best guard-center duos for years to come.<\/p>\n
The first-overall pick in last June’s draft, Zaccharie Risacher, ranked third amongst rookies in points per game. He didn’t wow in any one facet, yet his well-rounded game was on full display. Risacher averaged 12.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.2 assists while shooting 45.8 percent from the field and 35.5 percent from three-point range.<\/p>\n
Memphis Grizzlies’ Jaylen Wells is the only second-rounder to earn an All-Rookie First Team nod. The 39th pick started 74 of 79 games for the Grizzlies and played the part of glue-guy. Wells routinely took on difficult defensive assignments and stymied his All-Star opponents. Wells’ most common matchup, Devin Booker, shot 3-of-19 and turned it over four times in 22 minutes.<\/p>\n
The 2024 NBA Draft’s second pick earns an All-Rookie selection here. Although his efficiency as a 7-footer leaves much to be desired, Wizards’ Alex Sarr is a special talent. The Frenchman drilled 105 three-pointers, notched 161 assists, and swatted 101 shots. He finished the season averaging 13.0 points per game.<\/p>\n
Lastly, another Memphis rookie, Zach Edey. The hulking 7-foot-4 presence was drafted ninth in an era that prioritizes space and pace. Yet, Edey made his impact felt. Edey ranked 12th among qualifiers in contested rebound percentage and forced his opposition’s field goal percentage to decrease by 6.2 percent on shots within six feet.<\/p>\n The NBA All-Rookie Teams will be announced in May. We’ve projected where the Chicago Bulls’ Matas Buzelis will end up.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":55398,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55391","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba"],"yoast_head":"\n