Rookie Ladder: Amen Thompson Sees First Appearance as League Enter All-Star Break
After a trio of Thursday night games, the NBA will officially be on All-Star break.
So far, this year's rookies have more than lived up to the hype, and with a good chunk of the season still to play, they have plenty of time to improve.
No. 4 pick Amen Thompson sees his first appearance on list after finally cracking Houston's starting lineup. In five games starting, the hyper-athletic point guard has averaged 12.0 points, 11.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.8 steals and 0.8 blocks.
Here is the official Draft Digest rookie ladder as of Thursday, Feb. 15:
1. Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs
As expected, Wembanyama has been one of the best and brightest NBA rookies we’ve ever seen.
Averages of 20.5 points, 10.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 3.2 blocks already paint that picture, but don’t quite due complete justice to his magnitude on-court.
Just a few games ago, he posted 27 points, 14 rebounds and 10 blocks in less than 30 minutes, the only rookie to do so ever.
2. Chet Holmgren, OKC Thunder
Holmgren’s been terrific in his own right, not only putting up gaudy rookie stats — 16.7 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game — but doing so for the white-hot No. 2 seed in the Western Conference.
He saw a rough January, but bounced back in the short February slate. And the extended rest for All-Star break is sure to do him some good.
3. Brandon Miller, Charlotte Hornets
In his last 10 games, Miller has averaged a blistering 23.8 points per game on 48% shooting, adding 42% 3-point shooting on a whopping eight attempts per game.
In that same span, he’s added 4.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.0 blocks per game, moonlighting as a No. 1 scoring option.
Miller, as the No. 2 overall pick, was always thought of to have a high ceiling, but he’s raised that well beyond expectations for year one.
4. Jaime Jaquez Jr., Miami Heat
5. Keyonte George, Utah Jazz
6. Dereck Lively II, Dallas Mavericks
7. Scoot Henderson, Portland Trail Blazers
8. Ausar Thompson, Detroit Pistons
9. Brandin Podziemski, Golden State Warriors
10. Amen Thompson, Houston Rockets
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