Draft Digest Rookie Ladder: OKC’s Jalen Williams Takes Leap
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Newcomers are continuing to find their grooves throughout the grueling, 82-game NBA season.
Some rookies have continued their run of excellence, others are cooling down and most are finally beginning to find their footing as we near the halfway point of the season.
Oklahoma City’s Jalen Williams is the biggest riser of the week, leapfrogging Houston’s Jabari Smith Jr. and Sacramento’s Keegan Murray to take the No. 4 spot.
Williams has impressed over the entirety of the season, but especially in the last week. He’s averaged 17.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game for the Thunder in the last week, taking over more and more of the ball-handling responsibilities with each passing game.
One such example was Oklahoma City’s historic win on Tuesday night, when Williams exploded for 21 points, six assists with no turnovers and an impressive four steals.
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On the season, Williams is now shooting over 50 percent from the field, and is the only rookie to find himself in the top ten of points, assists, rebounds, blocks and steals per game.
Orlando’s Paolo Banchero and Indiana’s Bennedict Mathurin lead the way at the No. 1 and 2 spots, with little chance of being dethroned. Detroit’s Jaden Ivey finds himself at third yet again despite some shooting woes.
Other notable rookies to make the list are Hawks guard AJ Griffin, who has all but assumed a starting spot, and newcomer Jeremy Sochan, who’s seen a nice increase in production over the last week.
Others hot on the heels of the bottom of the list are Houston’s Tari Eason, Portland’s Shaedon Sharpe, Indiana’s Andrew Nembhard and Charlotte center Mark Williams, whose finally getting consistent minutes and making the most of them.
Jalen Williams, Murray, Ivey, Smith Jr., Sharpe, Sochan, Mathurin and Banchero are all in Wednesday night action for their respective teams.
Here are the full Draft Digest rookie ladder rankings:
1. Paolo Banchero, Orlando Magic
2. Bennedict Mathurin, Indiana Pacers
3. Jaden Ivey, Detroit Pistons
4. Jalen Williams, Oklahoma City Thunder
5. Keegan Murray, Sacramento Kings
6. Jabari Smith Jr., Houston Rockets
7. AJ Griffin, Atlanta Hawks
8. Walker Kessler, Utah Jazz
9. Jalen Duren, Detroit Pistons
10. Jeremy Sochan, San Antonio Spurs
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