Nerlens Noel Finishes March with Historic Single-Month Averages

Philadelphia 76ers forward Nerlens Noel averaged 14.2 points, 11.2 rebounds, 2.4 steals and 2.2 blocks in 17 March games, making him the first player since Hakeem Olajuwon in 1994 to hit all four of those statistical marks in a calendar month while playing 10 or more games, per NBA.com.

As if his month wasn't already incredible enough, the 20-year-old rookie managed to do all of that, despite averaging a modest 33.1 minutes per game for the 76ers, one of the worst teams in the NBA with an 18-57 record.

While it was once assumed that Minnesota Timberwolves forward Andrew Wiggins would take home Rookie of the Year honors, Noel's late charge has given the former Kentucky Wildcat a very strong case of his own.

After sitting out the entire 2013-14 season to let his knee heal from a torn ACL, Noel leads all NBA rookies with 17 double-doubles, while Orlando Magic guard Elfrid Payton is second with just 10, per ESPN Stats & Info.

Noel is also the only player in the NBA—rookie or otherwise—with 100 or more blocks and 100 or more steals so far this season, according to NBA.com.

While Wiggins' 16.2 points per game are easily best among rookies, Noel's 10.0 are still good for a respectable tie for fourth place with Chicago Bulls forward Nikola Mirotic.

And, Noel leads all rookies in rebounds (8.2), steals (1.8) and blocks (1.93) per game, with comfortable leads in all three categories.

It's also worth noting that Noel averages just 31.0 minutes per game on the season, compared to a whopping 35.7 for Wiggins.

If not for the fact that Wiggins is on a recent hot streak of his own, Noel might have already overtaken the former Kansas Jayhawk as the favorite for Rookie of the Year honors.