This year’s harvest of NBA The rookies have been disappointing by traditional standards. There’s still no real star in the group, although Jared McCain’s few weeks were a complete joy before his downfall. with a season-ending injury. But McCain aside, there hasn’t been a player capable of scoring in large quantities, which is what we’re used to seeing from rookies in recent years. Instead, there is plenty of young, raw talent that will take a few seasons to truly develop.
There have been a handful of players who have shown flashes, especially lately, but when you’re talking about awards like Rookie of the Year, it’s impossible to hand out something based solely on unseen potential. This will be the year we see a player win who may not have high counting stats, but impacts nightly wins in other ways. There’s still plenty of time for someone to break through, but halfway through the season it doesn’t look like we’re going to get a guy who’s capable of putting up 20-point night performances.
With half of the regular season in the books, let’s take stock of where the Rookie of the Year race stands.
Efficiency remains a concern for Risacher, because this season he is shooting just 41.4% from the field and 30.2% from deep. But Risacher’s impact extends beyond scoring, which is why his rookie campaign still stands out. He’s one of several big, long wings the Hawks have to surround Trae Young, covering many of the star guard’s defensive deficiencies. Risacher isn’t at the level of Jalen Johnson and Dyson Daniels, but he fits the prototype of those two and could certainly reach that level in a few years.
The important thing right now is that Risacher is doing enough little things to continue having an impact. He is not out of place on defense nor slow to rotate. He is already trusted enough that in two games he was tasked with guarding Kevin Durant for much of the game. He’s not a shutdown defender, but he’s certainly capable of holding his own, and Risacher’s length messes things up enough to create deflections and steals.
Risacher held his own against one of the best scorers to ever tie them. That didn’t stop Durant from scoring 31 points, but it forced him to make tough shots more often than not, and that’s all you can ask of a rookie.
Risacher has great instincts on defense, and while his shot is yet to fall on offense, it’s only a matter of time before some of his game falls into sync.
There was an eight-game stretch a few weeks ago where Sarr averaged over 15 points per game while shooting 50.6% from the field and 47.4% from deep. He showed tremendous growth from the No. 2 overall pick in last June’s draft, but also served as a perfect example of why it’s important to allow these rookies (and young players in general) to grow at their own pace. If there’s one thing this rookie class has taught us, it’s that not everything will happen right away, and Sarr is the perfect example of that.
After going a combined 20-81 on 3-pointers (24.6%) from October to November, Sarr has been cooking from deep since December, going 35-91 from deep (38.4%) during that span. It’s not a matter of him having more confidence in that shot, he’s just seeing it go in more often now.
“I’m taking the same amount of 3-pointers as before,” Sarr said. via El Atlético. “The shots are just coming off, I’d say. Whether I missed them or not in the first month, I didn’t stop taking them.”
Confidence never wavered, but Sarr does look more comfortable on the court offensively. His shot seems more fluid and there is not as much hesitation when making decisions.
The shot was the last part of Sarr’s game to catch up, because he immediately showed the impact he is capable of having on the defensive side of the ball. The Wizards allow 5.7 fewer points per 100 possessions when Sarr is on the court, which ranks in the 89th percentile in the league.
It took a little while, but lately Sarr is showing why he was taken so high in the draft.
Castle had a three-game stretch recently where he averaged 23 points on 54.2% shooting from the field. He is becoming a more consistent scorer and combines it with quality defense. The defense has stood out from the start, as his size and frame make him capable of giving even the best guards a tough time. But the offensive side of the ball has taken some time, although it looks like Castle is starting to improve.
The three-point shooting still isn’t where it should be, but he’s certainly getting his fair share of looks, the shots just aren’t falling right now. Castle also wasn’t a great 3-point shooter in his lone season at UConn, so it will take a while for that to develop. But from inside the arc, the rookie is showing some quality playmaking skills. He can get to his spots with ease, using his speed and quickness to know when to slow down, and has shown the ability to score off the rebound. If he finds an open lane, he will go to the basket, and once there he is not afraid to try to shoot a basket to whoever is standing under the basket. (Making him the perfect candidate for the 2025 NBA Slam Dunk Contest..)
The offensive improvements have been significant, but Castle’s defense is still what stands out the most. Against the Heat, he was attached to Tyler Herro’s hip, something the Heat guard talked about after the game.
“He picked me up in the driveway.” Herro said jokingly.. “When I got out of my car, he was actually waiting for me.”
It’s all jokes, but Castle doesn’t shy away from difficult tasks, and while he won’t be able to stop you from always scoring, he’ll make sure life is difficult.
Spurs rookie Stephon Castle and Bulls rookie Matas Buzelis commit to 2025 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, reports say
Jack Maloney

Edey has been one of the best rookies all season and unless you’re watching the games, you won’t understand how important he has been to the Grizzlies. He’s been a cheat code in more ways than one, as his team-leading 7.3 rebounds are part of the reason the Grizzlies are the second-best rebounding team in the league. His 3.2 offensive rebounds are tied for 11th most in the league, which directly influences the fact that Memphis ranks third in second-chance points.
Edey’s imposing size makes him difficult to keep off the glass, and he is a clear threat to Ja Morant’s creative mind. What has really stood out lately is that Memphis clearly encourages Edey to shoot the three-ball when he has a good view. He’s made 11 of 28 shots from beyond the arc (39.3%), which is a low sample size to generate too much of a stir, but we’re already starting to see the impacts he’s having on how teams perform. They defend him and the Grizzlies.
On some possessions we will see the Grizzlies make five moves to open the floor, moving the opposing team’s bigs away from the basket and opening the lane for players like Morant and Desmond Bane to drive to the rim. Against a team like the Spurs that employs the league’s leading blocker, Victor Wembanyama, that plan certainly worked, and on this occasion, it caused enough chaos to give Edey enough room to cut to the rim for an easy dunk.
A few possessions later, the Grizzlies ran virtually the same play and it worked again. Wembanyama commits to Jaren Jackson Jr., who drives, leaving Edey wide open for the pass and another easy dunk.
Not all teams still respect Edey’s three-point shooting skills; For example, the Timberwolves primarily had Rudy Gobert in drop coverage all night while Edey took up space along the three-point line. But if he starts making more than one three-pointer per game, the team will have no choice but to come out and defend him, which will open up many more offensive possibilities for Memphis.
I don’t think we’ve fully understood how absurd it is that Wells is regularly tasked with guarding the opposing team’s best player as a rookie. It largely depends on a team that currently sits in third place in the Western Conference. And it’s not like they just threw him to the wolves to learn to swim, no. Wells is making life hell for some of the league’s best scorers.
In two games against the Timberwolves, Wells was Anthony Edwards’ primary defender, and there wasn’t a second those two shared that floor where Wells wasn’t mirroring Edwards’ every move.
Minnesota had to use several screens to give Edwards an inch of room to operate, but even then Wells is fighting tooth and nail to get around them and disrupt his shots. Even when he was thrown at Julius Randle (who sees it as a mismatch that could be exploited) Wells stood his ground and forced Randle to hand the ball over.
And that’s just the defense. Wells is a reliable three-point threat for the Grizzlies and can even do a little more as a rebound scorer. In a class that doesn’t have a 15-point-per-game scorer, especially now that McCain is out for the rest of the season, Wells’ defensive-minded game can give him the edge in his class. He’s a big contributor every night, and perhaps most importantly, he’s doing it on a team that’s primed to make the postseason. He’s been the most impactful rookie so far, and if that continues, he could go home with the Rookie of the Year award.