Draft Digest Rookies of the Week: Finding Contributors Outside of the First Round
In this story:
Each week, the Draft Digest team picks an NBA rookie from each conference as the best player of the week.
While lottery picks are generally the players that are expected to have the best rookie seasons, there's always quality talent late in draft classes as well. It takes teams having right eye for these types players in order to capitalize on depth in any draft, but certain teams are known for it.
For this week's awards, a player that was selected late in the second round and a player that went undrafted back in June are being recognized. This just goes to show that the draft truly matters, even if you don't have top-end picks.
Who brought home the hardware this week?
Eastern Conference
Craig Porter Jr. (Cleveland Cavaliers)
Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Stats Since Last Week: 4 GP | 5.5 PPG | 5.8 APG | 0.8 BPG | 40% 3PT
With Darius Garland out for the next month or so, Craig Porter Jr. was slotted into a starting role as a first-year player. He' was a starter in three games this week, and has been great at finding his role and being a positive contributor without doing too much.
While he hasn't scored all that much, the assist numbers have been remarkable. Porter Jr. has averaged nearly six assists per contest over the past week alone. He's also been a solid defender, which shouldn't be surprising considering he earned a 74 DSI according to Cerebro Sports in his final college season before entering the NBA.
Western Conference
Trayce Jackson-Davis (Golden State Warriors)
John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports
Stats Since Last Week: 2 GP | 12.0 PPG | 10.5 RPG | 2.0 BPG | 68.8% FG
While the Warriors have struggled this season, rookies have been bright spots for the veteran team. Brandin Podziemski was an early season hero, but more recently Trayce Jackson-Davis has been phenomenal.
In fact, he's making the case for being the starting center for this Golden State team in the very near future. Especially if the franchise decides to shake things up, he's continued to prove he's a double-double machine, just like he was in college. Jackson-Davis has also blocked several shots this week and as expected has been efficient from the floor scoring. Simply put, he makes the most of his minutes.
Want to join the discussion? Like Draft Digest on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest NBA Draft news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.