Ranking Best and Worst NBA Rookie Performances so Far This Season
Even though the 2013 NBA rookie class has failed to make much of an impact thus far, it's still produced its fair share of impressive performers.
And when there are impressive ones, there are also not-so-impressive ones.
In this article, it's absolutely vital that you differentiate between best/worst "performer" and best/worst "rookie." We'll be talking about the former, which means that expectations come into play.
To understand exactly what I mean, take the following two hypothetical players:
- Player A: 10 points, five rebounds, two assists per game with a 15.0 PER
- Player B: 10 points, five rebounds, two assists per game with a 14.0 PER
Efficiency is causing the difference in PER, and that makes it quite clear that Player A is looking like the better rookie, at least if we're looking at statistical output in a vacuum. But that doesn't make him the better performer.
Now let me add in some biographical information:
- Player A was the No. 1 pick and expected to become a superstar.
- Player B went undrafted and wasn't even supposed to play a prominent part in his team's rotations.
All of a sudden, Player B looks a lot better. Not only is he exceeding the expectations; he's shattering them.
That's at the heart of these analyses, as we're breaking down the most impressive and the most disappointing rookies. That's what "best" and "worst" means in this context.
Note: All stats, unless otherwise indicated, come from ESPN.com and are accurate as of Nov. 13.
5th Worst: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
1 of 10
Team: Detroit Pistons
Position: SG
2013-14 Per-Game Stats: 7.2 points, 0.8 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.0 blocks, 0.8 steals, 13.31 PER
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope still has a bright future in the NBA—that's not going to change after just a handful of games—but he was supposed to be one of the few rookies in this draft class ready to compete right away.
He was almost certain to play a prominent part in the Detroit Pistons' guard rotation thanks to his defensive abilities and knack for knocking down the three-pointers that are so important for spacing out the court. Instead, Josh Smith has taken all the triples, and KCP has earned a spot on the bench.
The former Georgia Bulldog has been a healthy scratch from the lineup multiple times this season, and he's failed to shoot at least 40 percent from the field during either of the two games in which he played more than 20 minutes. In fact, the numbers during those games have been ugly.
When on the court for at least 20 minutes, KCP has averaged 9.0 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists while shooting a combined 8-of-23 from the field. That's not the way to earn more playing time.
Dishonorable Mentions: Reggie Bullock, Archie Goodwin, Jeff Withey (just for the Xavier Henry dunk)
5th-Best: Steven Adams
2 of 10
Team: Oklahoma City Thunder
Position: C
2013-14 Per-Game Stats: 6.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 1.3 blocks, 0.5 steals, 18.68 PER
Steven Adams was supposed to be an incredibly raw prospect, one who took a few years in the slow-cooker that is the NBA before he was ready to be served thrown out on the basketball court.
Welp. So much for that.
The 7-footer from Pittsburgh has already made a case not just to earn a spot in the rotation, but also to start games over Kendrick Perkins (which may not be saying too much). He's looked like a quality defender and rebounder, and his hands actually function when he's trying to catch the ball and make an offensive impact.
Adams still isn't going to push the Oklahoma City Thunder over the top on either end of the court, but he's already emerged as a bona fide rotation player, shredding the "project player" tag he carried with him into the draft.
There's something to be said for that.
Honorable Mentions: Vitor Faverani, Rudy Gobert, Gal Mekel
4th Worst: Dennis Schroder
3 of 10
Team: Atlanta Hawks
Position: PG
2013-14 Per-Game Stats: 4.8 points, 1.7 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 0.2 strikes to DeMarcus Cousins' groin, 0.0 blocks, 0.0 steals, 5.22 PER
Going into the season, Dennis Schroder seemed like a nice sleeper pick to emerge as the Rookie of the Year. He was the rare international pick who was NBA-ready and wasn't going to experience the same type of learning curve that most players face once they come overseas.
Well, the German floor general has shown bursts of potential, but they've been few and far between.
So far, Schroder has drawn more headlines for striking DeMarcus Cousins in the groin and drawing a one-game suspension than for anything he's done on the actual basketball court. Plus, he may have been able to spark the Atlanta Hawks to victory rather than sitting in his hotel room as the Denver Nuggets beat them to earn their first win.
It's hard to say it better than ESPN does in Schroder's fantasy outlook for the season: "Schroder is supposed to be the German Rondo, but let's remember that it took the American Rondo until his third season before he finally put up big fantasy stats."
Right now, the Hawks don't need German Rondo. They'd settle for mediocre production instead of turnover-filled minutes with occasional bursts of positive play.
4th Best: Victor Oladipo
4 of 10
Team: Orlando Magic
Position: SG
2013-14 Per-Game Stats: 12.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 0.5 blocks, 1.6 steals, 11.68 PER
Victor Oladipo has been good, but not great.
The Orlando Magic guard seemed like the prohibitive favorite for Rookie of the Year entering the season, as his two-way play coupled with the ability to line up at either guard position boded well for his chance of earning big minutes. His 25.6 minutes per game are respectable, but Arron Afflalo has played too well for Oladipo to earn any more.
Yet.
Even as a rookie, Oladipo has looked quite solid on the defensive end. He's prone to the occasional slip-up—as are most veterans—but he's already playing with fiery intensity and using his elite combination of athleticism and lateral quickness to shut down opposing 2-guards.
It's offense that has kept him from completely living up to the expectations, even though he's still been quite good.
Not only has he shot poorly from the field, but turnovers are limiting his impact as well. Through eight games, the former Hoosier is averaging 3.6 cough-ups per contest, and the first time he recorded less than three in a game was against the Boston Celtics in the eighth game of his first professional season.
The signs of stardom are there, but they're still just that: signs.
3rd Worst: Ian Clark
5 of 10
Team: Utah Jazz
Position: PG
2013-14 Per-Game Stats: 1.0 points, 1.0 rebounds, 0.6 assists, 0.2 blocks, 0.2 steals, minus-4.29 PER
Ian Clark wasn't exactly a heralded prospect coming out of Belmont, hence going undrafted, but he's been a special kind of awful for the Utah Jazz after looking like a viable backup guard during summer league action.
The point guard has shot 13.3 percent from the field, and it's not like he's playing too sparingly. Sure, he's not playing much more than 10 minutes per game, but he's attempting three shots during the average contest thus far.
He even put up an 0-of-6 outing against the Boston Celtics.
And Clark isn't making up for this field-goal futility by getting to the charity stripe or drilling shots from downtown. He's earned only one free-throw attempt (he missed) and is just 1-of-6 from beyond the three-point arc.
There weren't many expectations levied upon Clark going into the season, but he's failed to meet even the most mediocre goals.
Did you know that PER went into the negatives? Thanks to Clark, now you do!
3rd Best: Ben McLemore
6 of 10
Team: Sacramento Kings
Position: SG
2013-14 Per-Game Stats: 8.8 points, 2.3 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 0.2 blocks, 0.7 steals, 14.29 PER
If you want an idea of how excited the Sacramento Kings are about their first-round pick, just tune into any broadcast on their local Comcast SportsNet affiliate (which you can conveniently get to via League Pass!).
Once you do that, you'll hear a difference as soon as Ben McLemore touches the ball. The conversation halts, and the announcers repeat his last name with far too much frequency, almost as if they want everyone aware that something special could happen.
And while it hasn't every time, something special could happen.
McLemore has that rare combination of untapped potential, elite athleticism and great shooting mechanics from the outside. He's also been playing surprisingly well off the bounce, something that was pointed to as a weakness going into the season.
So far, his 19-point outing against the Golden State Warriors is tied with Victor Oladipo for the highest-scoring game by a rookie not named Michael Carter-Williams this year. He's already put up three scoring performances in double figures, more than anyone but Oladipo and MCW.
Truth be told, he's been slightly worse than Oladipo because the Orlando Magic shooting guard has played superior defense. But he also entered the season with lower expectations, hence finishing slightly above his positional counterpart.
2nd Worst: Shabazz Muhammad
7 of 10
Team: Minnesota Timberwolves
Position: SG/SF
2013-14 Per-Game Stats: 0.7 points, 0.3 rebounds, 0.0 assists, 0.0 blocks, 0.0 steals, minus-8.95 PER
Remember when Shabazz Muhammad had superstar potential and was viewed as a strong candidate to go No. 1 in the NBA draft?
That was a long time ago.
Muhammad still became a lottery pick, but he hasn't been able to carve out a spot in the Minnesota Timberwolves rotation, even with Chase Budinger out of action. Robbie Hummel has even jumped him on the depth chart.
Plus, Muhammad has been absolutely atrocious when he's stepped onto the court. That minus-8.95 PER should be inspiring cringes from everyone, even fans who rejoice when the 'Wolves fail to meet expectations.
It's that ugly.
In the 11 minutes he's spent on the floor—spread over three games—the UCLA product has recorded two points on 1-of-3 shooting, one rebound, one personal foul and two turnovers. That's it.
Look at that picture of Muhammad again. That's what falling stock looks like in the flesh.
2nd Best: Nate Wolters
8 of 10
Team: Milwaukee Bucks
Position: PG
2013-14 Per-Game Stats: 8.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 0.3 blocks, 1.0 steals, 14.93 PER
Raise your hand if you saw this coming from Nate Wolters.
If anyone is holding an arm up in the air, you're probably lying. I followed Wolters' career at South Dakota State religiously, and very few people believed that he could become a quality point guard in the NBA. While I predicted that he would eventually start in the Association, I didn't think it would happen this fast.
Wolters has struggled with his shot while starting for the Milwaukee Bucks, but he's not looking to emerge as a huge scoring threat. Instead, he's taking what comes to him and playing incredibly intelligent basketball.
That was especially clear against the Cleveland Cavaliers, who hedged and trapped hard against him. Despite the heavy pressure, Wolters made the right decision without fail, always finding the open man to keep the ball moving faster than the legs of the defense.
Thus far in the 2013-14 season, 12 games have been played by rookies in which they were on the court for at least 24 minutes and recorded either zero or one turnovers, per Basketball-Reference. These are the players who populate the list:
- Nate Wolters (five times)
- Tim Hardaway (twice)
- Steven Adams, Nick Calathes, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Michael Carter-Williams, Victor Oladipo
Wolters is one of three point guards on the list, which makes it even more impressive. Plus, he's had two of the five goose eggs in the turnover column.
In Brandon Knight's absence, he's been as steady as can be. It's already clear that he's going to be a rotation guard for a long time.
Worst: Anthony Bennett
9 of 10
Team: Cleveland Cavaliers
Position: SF/PF
2013-14 Per-Game Stats: 0.7 points, 2.6 rebounds, 0.1 assists, 0.3 blocks, 0.9 steals, 0.13 PER
Poor Anthony Bennett.
He was a shocking No. 1 pick on draft night, and now he's beset by expectations associated with a top overall selection, even though that's not particularly fair. Bennett was never going to come in and dominate right away, especially for a Cleveland Cavaliers team that was already overflowing with options at power forward.
Yet he still goes down in history as a No. 1 pick, and he got off to the worst start ever by a top selection. Seriously, I went back and looked at the game logs for every pick since 1963 (the year that Basketball-Reference starts displaying game logs), and nobody has even been close.
Since that article was published on Nov. 7, things have gotten even worse for the former UNLV standout. He's struggled with a sore right shoulder, playing only 15 minutes over the course of the Cavs' last three games, and he's gone 0-of-1 from the field.
That depresses his field-goal percentage to 4.8 percent, and his true shooting percentage is a staggeringly low 11 percent. In the history of the NBA, Ralph Wells (1962-63) is the only player to boast a lower true shooting percentage for a season in which at least one field goal was made.
Bennett has been that bad.
Best: Michael Carter-Williams
10 of 10
Team: Philadelphia 76ers
Position: PG
2013-14 Per-Game Stats: 17.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, 7.6 assists, 0.8 blocks, 2.6 steals, 19.50 PER
You can take whatever expectations you had for Michael Carter-Williams and defenestrate them.
I highly doubt that even MCW's parents expected him to get off to this hot a start for the Philadelphia 76ers. Not only was he surrounded by minimal talent, but he was going to learn on the job from Day 1 and attempt to fix all the glaring issues with his game.
Supposedly, Carter-Williams couldn't shoot, he had problems with turnovers and his play in half-court sets was rather lackluster, as he typically did most of his damage at Syracuse in transition.
So much for that.
Not only has Carter-Williams led the Sixers to a shocking above-.500 start, but he put together arguably the most impressive debut of all time, torturing the Miami Heat from the first bucket of the game until the final buzzer in an upset for the ages.
He's cooled off since then—not very shocking—but MCW has already flashed some serious star power.
So far, the Rookie of the Year race features Carter-Williams running neck and neck with some of the other top candidates. Problem is, the Philadelphia floor general has already lapped the rest of the field.
