Sophomore Season Projections for Kyrie Irving and the NBA's All-Rookie Team
The NBA announced its All-Rookie Team on Tuesday, with Rookie of the Year Kyrie Irving unsurprisingly leading the pack in votes.
Ricky Rubio, Kenneth Faried, Klay Thompson, Iman Shumpert, Kawhi Leonard and Brandon Knight all join Irving on an unusually lengthy first team.
Usually reserved for the top five rookies, Shumpert, Leonard and Knight were voted into a three-way tie for the final spot.
With those first seasons now in the history books, the only remaining question is how these promising young stars will build upon their early success.
Kyrie Irving—PG, Cleveland Cavaliers
It would be pretty hard to make a case that any of this year's rookies will have a better career than Irving. We should absolutely expect to see more of the same talent and poise, and next year will be no exception.
Now the unquestioned cornerstone of Cleveland's rebuilding process, Irving averaged 18.5 points and 5.4 assists this season–but his shooting efficiency (47 percent from the field) was even more impressive than his production, especially for a rookie.
We might not see a significant increase in his scoring average (especially if Cleveland lands a big-time scorer like Bradley Beal in this summer's draft), but it wouldn't be surprising to see him distributing closer to six or seven assists a game.
Ricky Rubio—PG, Minnesota Timberwolves
With a torn ACL ending Rubio's season after just 41 games, a fantastic debut was cut short—along with the Timberwolves' playoff chances.
Rubio struggled with his shot, but still managed to score 10.6 points a game in addition to his ridiculous 8.2 assists.
Rubio may be slightly slowed by rust after such a long recovery, but it shouldn't last long. It will probably take him another couple of years to become an elite scorer, but his ability to get his teammates involved with unreal passing won't change.
Kenneth Faried—PF, Denver Nuggets
After having a solid regular season, this kid averaged a double-double in seven first-round games against the Lakers in just under 28 minutes a game.
On the one hand, George Karl's trust in the explosive forward has surely increased. On the other, a full year of Wilson Chandler might eat into his minutes, at least marginally. He might see his production drop a bit, but it wouldn't be at all surprising if he matches 10.2 points and 7.7 boards he put up this year.
Klay Thompson—SG, Golden State Warriors
How good was Thompson this year? Good enough that the Warriors felt comfortable trading starting guard Monta Ellis for center Andrew Bogut.
Barring any major changes, Thompson should start for Golden State next year—a role in which he began to thrive in Ellis' absence. The 22-year-old is already an excellent shooter with good size on the wing. He could be one of the league's most improved players and score upwards of 15 or 16 points a game.
Iman Shumpert—SG/PG, New York Knicks
Shumpert made an instant impact with New York as a superlative on-ball defender with a still-improving perimeter shot. He's also quite the athlete, a perk that plays well for him on both ends of the floor.
While chances are Jeremy Lin, Landry Fields and J.R. Smith will all be back, Shumpert is likely to earn plenty of playing time. Recovery from a torn ACL will delay the start of Shumpert's season, but he should be playing a major role for this team in time for the postseason.
Kawhi Leonard—SF, San Antonio Spurs
It's not often that a rookie earns so much trust from Coach of the Year Gregg Popovich, but Leonard's maturity, defensive ability and hustle have kept in the starting lineup through most of the season (and postseason).
The Spurs knew they were getting a solid rebounder and workhorse, but they were pleasantly surprised to see Leonard develop a consistent perimeter shot. He's become well-adept at spotting up for the corner three-pointer the Spurs so love to take.
Brandon Knight—PG, Detroit Pistions
Along with second-year center Greg Monroe, Brandon Knight was one of the few bright spots for the Pistons. While he's had to share playing time with Rodney Stuckey and Ben Gordon in the backcourt, Detroit appears committed to letting Knight get the lion's share of the minutes at point—he averaged over 32 a game this year.
The 20-year-old is more of a scorer for now, and he should become a more efficient one–but expect his biggest improvement to be adding to his 3.8 assists per game. He'll almost certainly get a better feel for his team and develop his court vision, so the those numbers should get better.
