2022-23 NBA Awards Media Poll: Rookie of the Year
Over the last few weeks, the NBA awards have been a hot topic of discussion around the NBA world.
The three finalists for each award were announced on Friday, April 14, but Fastbreak on FanNation has collected data from NBA media members around the country covering both the league at-large and individual teams.
These media members were asked to vote on their Top-3 for Rookie of the Year this season with the voting process working as follows:
- 5 points for every first-place vote
- 3 points for every second-place vote
- 1 points for every third-place vote
Below are the results from the voting that took place for the 2022-23 NBA Rookie of the Year award at the conclusion of the regular season:
Official results from Fastbreak on FanNation’s NBA Media Awards Polling 2022-23 - ROTY
Media Members Pick To Win 2022-23 NBA Rookie of the Year:
Paolo Banchero - Orlando Magic
A unanimous selection for the 2022-23 NBA Rookie of the Year award, Paolo Banchero is very deserving of this honor. Drafted first overall by the Orlando Magic this past offseason, Banchero had a stellar rookie season and received all 20 first-place votes, as seen above, for a maximum of 100 voting points.
Playing in 72 games this season, Banchero averaged 20.0 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game while shooting 42.7 percent from the floor. He also recorded 14 double-doubles during his rookie year.
The Magic finished with a 34-48 record, missing the playoffs for the third consecutive year, but they improved their win total by 12 wins and were in contention for a possible Play-In Tournament spot in the Eastern Conference late in the year.
Leading all rookies in scoring (20.0 PPG) and field goals made (479), plus ranking second in total minutes played (2,430) and fourth in total rebounds (497), Banchero is the clear-cut favorite for Rookie of the Year and he will undoubtedly be taking home this honor when it is announced by the league.
As for the other two finalists for Rookie of the Year, Jalen Williams and Walker Kessler both had standout seasons that not many were expecting.
The Oklahoma City Thunder were picked to finish near the bottom of the NBA standings this season and while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander played a big role in getting them to the Play-In Tournament and on the verge of getting a playoff spot, so did rookie Jalen Williams.
In 75 games, Williams averaged 14.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.4 steals per game, making an impact for the Thunder on both ends of the floor. An extremely efficient ball-handler and on-ball defender, the rookie from Santa Clara proved to be a “positionless” player for Oklahoma City this season and was arguably the most efficient rookie when you look at his advanced numbers.
Walker Kessler was another rookie with high efficiency numbers and with Rudy Gobert being traded by the Utah Jazz to the Minnesota Timberwolves, the stars aligned for Kessler to prove his worth this year.
Coming off-the-bench for the first half of the season, Kessler stepped into a much bigger role for Utah in December and he very quickly became known for being a double-double machine and one of the better rim-protectors in the league.
Recording 173 blocks this season, Walker Kessler not only led all rookies in blocked shots by a landslide, but he ended up ranking fourth in the league, trailing only Brook Lopez, Nic Claxton and the 2022-23 NBA Defensive Player of the Year in Jaren Jackson Jr.
Like the Thunder, the Jazz were picked by many to finish the season near the bottom of the league’s standings and while they were eliminated from postseason contention, they were still fighting for a spot in the Play-In Tournament late in the year.
Jalen Williams finished second in the voting above, receiving 15 second-place votes, as Walker Kessler finished third, receiving 11 third-place votes.
Keegan Murray from the Sacramento Kings, Benedict Mathurin from the Indiana Pacers and Jaden Ivey from the Detroit Pistons all received third-place votes for Rookie of the Year, as Mathurin and Ivey received one second-place vote each.
