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Charlotte Hornets phenom LaMelo Ball beat out Minnesota Timberwolves No. 1 overall pick Anthony Edwards for the NBA’s Rookie of the Year, but both were honored as first-team all-rookie selections on Thursday.
The NBA on TNT posted the first- and second-team squads of precocious NBA stars, led by Ball and Edwards:
Ball’s late-season injury and Edwards’ surge in production and efficiency after the All-Star break tightened up the race for the NBA’s top rookie. However, there were other NBA freshmen who fared extremely well.
Sacramento Kings guard Tyrese Haliburton, Detroit Pistons forward Saddiq Bey and Houston Rockets standout Jae’Sean Tate — an undrafted free agent back in 2018 — rounded out the all-rookie first team.
Bey’s teammate, center Isaiah Stewart, got a second-team bid, along with a pair of impressive wings in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Isaac Okoro and the Chicago Bulls’ Patrick Williams.
The Memphis Grizzlies’ ability to identify and acquire young talent continued to bear fruit in 2020-21, when late first-round pick Desmond Bane contributed 9.2 points per contest. And finally, the New York Knicks found a diamond in the rough in Immanuel Quickley, who was drafted just five picks before Bane at No. 25 overall.
Notably absent is Golden State Warriors big man James Wiseman, the second overall pick from the 2020 draft. Part of the reason he’s not featured is because Wiseman appeared in only 39 games.
Major takeaways from NBA All-Rookie Teams
These first-year players penned their narratives throughout the regular season, yet it’s worth recapping the most notable developments for the franchises most prominently involved here.
In the case of Ball and Edwards, it’s fairly obvious: They’re expected to be cornerstones on an eventual championship core. Ball exceeded expectations from the jump, and Edwards’ late surge has to have Minnesota fans relieved, because for prisoners of the moment early on, it looked like passing on Ball was going to be a big mistake.
The Pistons are quietly building a decent young cast of talent. Consider that their highest 2020 pick, Killian Hayes, didn’t make the all-rookie teams, yet two of their other players did. That bodes well for the future — and Hayes has serious upside to boot.
Haliburton was a dubious fit in Sacramento alongside De’Aaron Fox, or so it seemed. Many still thought he was a huge steal when he fell to 12th in the draft, and that appears to be the case so far. The Iowa State product averaged 13 points on excellent shooting splits of 47.2/40.9/85.7, with 5.3 assists per contest against only 1.6 turnovers.
Overall, it was an extremely entertaining crop of rookies who entered the NBA, and some of the higher picks such as Wiseman and Hayes should take huge steps forward next season if they can stay healthy.
