Matt Johnson
Who will win NBA Rookie of the Year next season? The 2026 NBA Draft class was heralded as one of the best in years, with several high-end prospects who project as perennial All-Star and All-NBA candidates. It makes for a fascinating battle between the NBA Rookie of the Year candidates for next season.
Let’s dive into our early rankings for NBA Rookie of the Year.
1. Darius Acuff Jr, PG, Sacramento Kings
We’re picking Darius Acuff Jr. to win NBA Rookie of the Year for the 2026-27 season as of now. The Sacramento Kings were elated to land the All-American guard with the seventh overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. While Acuff is undersized (6-foot-2) and a traffic cone defensively, he is going to be the Kings’ centerpiece immediately. Acuff was the best pure scorer in the 2026 NBA Draft class and he brings a level of vision, playmaking and explosiveness that should translate to success immediately. The shooting splits won’t necessarily be pretty, but Acuff has a legitimate shot at averaging 20-plus points and 6-plus assists per game for Sacramento. The overall numbers and the 30-point performances he’ll rack up, in our view, will earn him Rookie of the Year.
Related: Sacramento Kings Called One of Biggest 2026 NBA Draft Winners
2. Cameron Boozer, PF, Memphis Grizzlies
We believe the battle between Acuff and Cameron Boozer for NBA Rookie of the Year will culminate in one of the closest voting finishes in recent years. The son of former All-Star forward Carlos Boozer, the rookie is walking into a very promising situation with the Memphis Grizzlies. Ja Morant will presumably be gone and center Zach Edey (8.9 field-goal attempts per game) will get rebounds but not require a ton of touches. The Grizzlies’ offense is going to go through Boozer as the primary scoring option. He will lead all rookies in double-doubles this upcoming season and we could see him averaging 18-plus points and 8-plus rebounds per game with solid shooting splits.
3. Darryn Peterson, G, Utah Jazz
If our NBA Rookie of the Year candidates were ranked purely based on talent, Darryn Peterson would be atop the list. We recognize he had a disappointing season at Kansas, but that was largely caused by cramping and other circumstances. When he’s at 100 percent, Peterson has the talent to be an elite scorer and his ceiling is an All-NBA guard. On a rebuilding team where he could be the clear-cut No. 1 option, he’d be our pick for ROY. However, the Utah Jazz‘s core–Keyonte George, Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr.–means there are a lot of mouths to feed on the court with only one basketball to go around. Peterson’s highs will rival the best performances by rookies this season; we’re just skeptical of the consistency and overall numbers being there for him to earn enough love from voters.
4. Cacleb Wilson, PF, Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls were labeled one of the biggest winners of the 2026 NBA Draft and for good reason. Caleb Wilson’s freshman season was cut short with the North Carolina Tar Heels by an injury, but he looked like one of the best players in college basketball before that. Wilson will have an excellent playmaker feeding him the ball with Josh Giddey, who averaged 9.8 assists per game after the All-Star Break this past season. Nic Claxton (8.4 field-goal attempts per game) won’t take many shots and Matas Buzelis figures to be a secondary option now behind Wilson. The Bulls’ rookie might not ultimately win NBA Rookie of the Year this season, but we do think there’ll be stretches where Wilson is atop the leaderboard.
5. AJ Dybantsa, SF, Washington Wizards
The Washington Wizards were certainly elated to win the lottery, allowing them to select wing AJ Dybantsa with the first overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. Most experts agree that he was the top prospect in the class and his long-term upside is a perennial All-NBA forward who can help elevate Washington into becoming a contender in the Eastern Conference. However, he’s stepping into a situation where Trae Young (26.3% Usage in Washington) will be the primary ball-handler and Anthony Davis (27.5% USG last season) will require plenty of touches. We think he’ll be very good this year for a Wizards team that will make the playoffs, but he just won’t have the numbers to earn NBA Rookie of the Year.
