NBA Rookie of the Year Candidates Not Named Zion Williamson
- Ralph James
- Sep 10, 2019
- 7 min read
Updated: Sep 10, 2019
Look, we get it: Zion Williamson is good at basketball. Like really fucking good at basketball. We’ve been aware of this since his junior year of high school when he became Instagram’s favorite entity.
I remember seeing a Zion Williamson dunk for the first time like it was yesterday. His volcano-sized body erupted upwards and his left hand cradled a basketball while it touched the bottom of his left butt cheek before it nearly shattered the petrified rim.
(One day I'll become Earth's #1 Zion Fan Fiction writer, but the story above is not fiction.)
But just because Z (that's my favorite nickname for him, just Z, except it has to be underlined and bolded font when written out) was the number one pick in the 2019 NBA draft doesn’t mean he’s going to be the de facto winner of this year’s Rookie of the Year award. Zion was drafted to the New Orleans Pelicans. A team that is going to have some fresh faces this upcoming season following their mega-deal with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Rookies like Zion, Jaxson Hayes, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker aren’t going to be the only NOLA players trying to prove themselves to their new franchise this season. Young “veterans” like Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, and Josh Hart are just as eager as the even newer newcomers, and although they may not admit it in the public eye: the former Lakers believe that this is their team.
We can anticipate New Orleans to have around five or six guys who average over 10 points per game (Jrue Holiday, Derrick Favors, J.J. Reddick, Brandon Ingram, and Zion Williamson). Their leading scorer is going to be the team’s elder statesman, Jrue Holiday, and Lonzo Ball will be the one who is handed the keys to the offense since he’s their best distributor.
This equation means that Zion is going to be somewhat of an afterthought in the New Orleans offense although he’ll be at the forefront of all their highlight reels. This delusion of concentration isn’t going to be the same for other rookies in the 2019 Draft Class. There are four other players who have just as good of a chance as Zion, if not better, to win the NBA Rookie of the Year award due to their situations, circumstances, and systems they'll be playing within.
The two other top three players in this draft class, RJ Barrett and Ja Morant, are going to be asked to be one of the best players on their teams during their upcoming rookie seasons. They stick out to me more than later lottery draft picks (Tyler Herro and Coby White) not only because they were higher picks, but because they are going to be looked at to be the saviors of their respected franchises rather than valued bucket getters.
To avoid all allegations of being biased to Duke, let's begin with the second pick in the NBA Draft...
JA MORANT, MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES
Predicted Stats: 14.8 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 8.1 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.6 BPG, 44% FG, 31% 3PT, 79.2% FT
If you've been living under a Zion sized rock for the last 12 months, then let me explain who the second pick in the NBA draft is to you in a simple manner:
Ja Morant is an infusion of a younger John Wall, and last year's Trae Young. The young man is tall for his position, as athletic as they come, and his superb vision allows him to be even more dangerous as a passer than he is as a scorer.
The guy has an almost veteran-seasoned feel for the game. His jump shot is relatively inconsistent, but his athleticism is mind boggling enough to take advantage of the space that defenders will be forced to give him. His first step is electric, and once he blows by the first defender, his vision is dangerous enough to find the wide open guy in the corner or on the wing nearly every time up the floor. Ja is already going to be amongst the top five-to-ten range as a 21 year old point guard as far as distributing goes.
The only issue with Morant’s ability and willingness to pass the ball is that the teammates he’s going to be passing to are simply not that good. He’s going to have to force feed Triple J (Jaren Jackson Jr.) if the Grizzlies want to make any improvements with this young core. If he gets stuck feeding it to whichever guy with the last name Brooks is still on the team, then the Grizzlies are going to be stuck in the NBA’s tumultuous purgatory once again. But hey, maybe they’ll luck their way into another top 3 pick. Who knows?
R.J. BARRET, NEW YORK KNICKS
Predicted Stats: 17.8 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 4.1 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.5 BPG, 46% FG, 30% 3PT, 70.2% FT
Canada's Finest. The Maple Mamba. The guy who didn't pass to Zion enough. There are a lot of differing opinions on Duke's own, R.J. Barrett, and the variety of opinions is warranted.
R.J. came into the 2018-19 college basketball season as the nation's number one recruit, and he didn't quite perform up to standards. Albeit the standards were that of a blend of James Harden and Jayson Tatum, but nonetheless Barrett failed to bring a national championship to Duke alongside his best friend and teammate, Zion Williamson.
Timeout: Let's not forget that R.J. did have one of the greatest seasons in ACC history last year. As a freshman, nonetheless.
Despite all of the questions concerning R.J.'s ability to be an alpha dog, the stud freshman still went number three overall in the 2019 NBA Draft to the New York Knicks. He's publicly stated that he's a fan of the bright lights, big stages, and flashing cameras, and now he's gotten what he's wished for. He'll be playing on the world's biggest stage for 41 games every year: Madison Square Garden.
From the jump, R.J. will be New York's number one or number two option alongside his fellow left-handed teammate Julius Randle, a young veteran power forward from Kentucky who is essentially 90% of Zion Williamson. Nobody's positive who is going to be the primary playmaker for the Knicks between Dennis Smith Jr., Elfrid Payton, and R.J., but it's safe to say the rookie will be favored as the playmaker throughout the season considering his obsessive, nearly selfish alpha dog mentality.
There are a lot of parts of R.J.'s game that are already pro-level quality, but there are certain areas that drastically need improvement if R.J. ever wants to meet the expectations that come with the nickname The Maple Mamba. Here's a list of all the areas where Barrett needs improvement:
Spot up shooting
Off the dribble shooting
Free throw shooting
Passing out of drives to the basket
Ball-handling tightness as the primary option
Post game: back to the basket, and face-up moves
Off-ball defense
Defensive awareness/instincts
Yes, I'm aware that that is a long list of necessary improvements, but they're all teachable things and the positives of R.J.'s game outweigh the negatives.
His explosion and athleticism is eye opening, and his ability to maneuver through the paint on attacks to the basket isn't something that one can simply learn. It's instinctual and eludes to shades of James Harden and Manu Ginobili potential.
Overall, R.J. may be the safest bet in the league as far as who wants the Rookie of the Year award the most. He knows he has to prove himself after going third in the draft when he was projected to go first for the majority of his adolescent life.
TYLER HERRO, MIAMI HEAT
Predicted Stats: 12.2 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 2.8 APG, 0.4 SPG, 0.2 BPG, 44% FG, 42% 3PT, 91.6% FT
Tyler Herro is hands down mans down the best shooter in this draft class, and if you don't believe me right now, then save your opinion until after you watch this highlight tape:
Yeah yeah yeah, I'm aware that these highlights are only Summer League highlights, but shooting transcends every gym it walks into. Tyler Herro could go 9/13 from deep range in a YMCA, or at Staples Center. It doesn't matter to guys who have touch like him. The same ideology applies to Klay Thompson, Bradley Beal, and Devin Booker. Don't get me wrong, I'm not comparing Tyler Herro to three of the best shooting guards in the league, but the kid has the potential to be one of the five best shooters in the league by the time he turns 21 years old.
Cause that's the whole thing with this kid, Tyler Herro doesn't turn 20 years old until January 20th, 2020. He's two days younger than my little brother. How fucking wild is that? The young man can barely go paint balling without his parents' permission and he's going to get paid enough money to convince me to enter the priesthood.
Herro doesn't have to worry about being the guy who fills in Dwyane Wade's monstrous, legendary self-branded shoes because Jimmy Butler's going to attempt to do that (and he will fail tremendously). So there's really no weight on Herro's shoulders, and that's a relief for anybody who loves to shoot basketballs.
And Tyler Herro loves to shoot basketballs, so that's exactly what he's going to do this year. He'll likely come off the bench and be the first option for the second unit. The Heat will utilize him in a lot of off-ball screens, and try to get him open looks so it's safe to say that he'll be attempting nearly six to seven three point shots per game as a rookie.
COBY WHITE, CHICAGO BULLS
Predicted Stats: 9.8 PPG, 1.8 RPG, 4.1 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.1 BPG, 46% FG, 37% 3PT, 78% FT
Sometimes objective journalism is hard. If you don't know already, I despise the North Carolina Tar Heels and nearly everybody that's involved with them aside from Roy Williams (I don't know why I love him, I just do). (Nevermind, I totally do know why I love him. It's because he's an incredible coach and gets the most out of his players every time they step on the floor, and OH! this video exists.)
With that being said, Coby White has the potential to be the little engine that takes the Chicago Bulls from the bottom of the bottom of the league, to the top of the bottom of the league.
Coby's a score first point guard, which is like the last thing that the Chicago Bulls needed, but fuck it. Why not pair one bucket getting guard with another? I mean, Zach Lavine already refuses to pass the ball, so maybe by playing with Coby White he'll get a taste of his own medicine.
White's going to have to work on his playmaking and discipline if he wants to be the floor general of the future for the Bulls. White recorded only 143 assists during his one year at UNC, and a whopping 93 turnovers as well. If he can cut down on his turnovers and amp up his playmaking ability, then he'll be a valuable asset and a dangerous player for the Bulls for the next decade.
One last thing: is he the ugliest player in the league now? Dude looks like the 4th member of Alvin and the Chipmunks who gets relentlessly bullied by Alvin, Theodore, and Simon for his ratchet-ass hairdo.
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