NBA: Regular Season Rookie Wrap-Up

As the 2023 NBA Playoffs approaches, it's time to take a bird's eye view of the 2022 rookie class, seen through the lens of the regular season.

Let's start with the obvious. The number one overall pick will walk away with the Rookie Of the Year award. If he doesn't, I will call shenanigans. Paolo Banchero started the season off hot, maintained a production level that was absurdly high, and thus deserves to win the award.

It's fair to wonder if Banchero will be the best player from the 2022 draft class, though.

Jaden Ivey looks like a future All-Star, as he spent the vast majority of the year as Detroit's primary guard, due to Cade Cunningham playing in only 12 games.

Shaedon Sharpe is stockpiling points like it's nobody's business these days, netting 24.3 of them over his past nine appearances, while adding in over six rebounds and four assists for good measure.

Chet Holmgren missed the whole year, but he was rated highly throughout last season for a reason, and it's certainly within the realm of possibility that he hits the ground running next year, and looks every bit the matchup nightmare that he's believed to be.

In any other year, it's difficult to find three other names who might be long-term better players than the league's no-nonsense ROY winner, but this year you can make that case.

Fortunately, it doesn't end there.

Bennedict Mathurin is a bucket getter, who should make a quality long-term backcourt partner for Tyrese Haliburton. Mathurin wrapped up the year averaging over 16 points, four rebounds, and he made it to the free throw line over 400 times in his debut season.

Walker Kessler surprised everyone, coming in far more NBA ready than most anticipated. The Jazz center came surprisingly close to averaging a double-double, netting over nine points and eight rebounds per game in just 23 minutes per game. Kessler hit over 70% of his shots, blocked over two shots per game, and made Jazz fans forget about Rudy Gobert in a hurry.

Keegan Murray became the first-ever rookie to hit 200+ three-pointers in his debut season, and displayed his adaptability all year long for the surprising Kings, who finally broke their playoff curse. Murray, an overall scorer and not just a spot-up shooter, sacrificed for the greater good, playing off of Domantas Sabonis and De'Aaron Fox, instead of taking over possessions and creating his own looks. Maybe next year Mike Brown will allow him to stretch his wings. He's definitely earned that.

Jalen Williams quickly proved that he's going to be the next great Swiss army knife playing a brand of positionless basketball throughout the course of the season. He didn't have a flashy line, ending up with averages of just over 14 points, four rebounds and three assists, but he was purposeful in everything he did, sported a high scoring efficiency, and was a key example of a player who does more on the court than what is immediately detectable on the stat sheet.

Jeremy Sochan proved to be much further ahead in his offensive development than most thought, surprisingly averaging double-digits while being the versatile defender that he came in as. He's still raw in some areas, such as identifying the right shots, and you'd like to see his passing instincts lead to a bit more, but at just 19, he's still a gem for the Spurs.

Speaking of age, Jalen Duren did not look his whatsoever. The youngest player in the association instead looked seasoned, was productive, netting over nine points and eight rebounds, while improving in the smaller areas on a month-to-month basis. Duren's impressive physique and athletic ability has offered the Pistons an avenue they haven't had for a whole near the rim. As he progresses, the Pistons will surely depend on him more and more on both ends of the floor, and odds are he'll be fully capable of handling those duties.

For some rookies, this season had odds moments.

Take Mark Williams, who didn't really play until the second half of the season. When the 7-foot center, with a wingspan of 7-foot-7, finally did get the chance, people were left scratching their head as to how this guy wasn't playing before. The former Duke Blue Devil put up almost nine points and seven rebounds per game in just 19 minutes of playing time, converting on over 62% of his shots, displaying a fairly reliable mid-range shot, and protecting the basket by contesting shots without fouling (too much). Williams easily looks like the center of the future, and you could even see him work alongside Victor Wembanyama, should Charlotte win the lottery.

Johnny Davis didn't play the vast majority of the season, with the Wizards - somewhat unprofessionally - hinting at confidence issues. When he did play, especially later in the year, he produced (almost 15 per games and five rebounds over his past seven games through April 8), and played with both confidence and patience, further underlining the oddity of the Wizards deciding to not give him a chance earlier in the year.

Guys like Wendell Moore, Nikola Jović, Dalen Terry, Peyton Watson, and Ousmane Dieng weren't given a lot of floor time, meaning franchises are kicking the can down the road to next season to give them a proper look.

As is always the case, there were hidden gems in the second round of the draft as well.

Andrew Nembhard, who admittedly was the first player chosen in the second round, has so far been the big prize. The Pacers combo guard put up over nine points and four assists per game, while canning over 90 3-pointers. Nembhard started most of the year alongside Haliburton, and will likely take a backseat to Mathurin eventually, which will allow him to run the second unit as the man in charge.

Christian Koloko, taken No. 33 overall, is a long rim protector, who got some valuable minutes this season. He's a long-term project, but initial returns show a center who can help the Raptors give them a lift near the rim on the defensive side of the ball.

Jaylin Williams, picked immediately after Koloko, has been a wildly underrated name all year. He led the league in total charges drawn, showed an ability to score in a variety of ways, from both inside and out, and he even showed off some on-ball creation that he should be able to further build upon. He's been a quality get by the Thunder.

Jaden Hardy, the much hyped Dallas guard, came in considerably more efficient than anticipated. The 6-foot-4 off-guard created his own looks, hit over 41% of his long shots, and looked every bit the explosive scorer he came in pegged as. Hardy netted over 20 points per game Per36 minutes, and should Kyrie Irving leave this summer, Hardy should be more than capable of helping fill the scoring void.

Overall, the NBA once again hit a home run in the draft. The talent injection was considerable, further deepening the quality of the league. With the 2023 draft class looking even better, the NBA's on-court product remains better than ever.

Unless noted otherwise, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball-Reference. All salary information via Spotrac. All odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.

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