NBA TV Analyst Greg Anthony Praises Heat's Kendrick Nunn Before Settling Rookie Of The Year Debate

NBA TV analyst Greg Anthony made it a point to give Miami Heat guard Kendrick Dunn his props.

Anthony was complimentary of Nunn's first season but said it wasn't comparable to Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant, his choice for Rookie of the Year.

"First and foremost, Kendrick Nunn has had a great rookie campaign," Anthony said on an appearance on NBA TV. "We have to give him credit for that. I think he's going to be an All-Rookie performer, first team. Having said that, Ja Morant has clearly been the Rookie of the Year."

Nunn caused a stir earlier this week when he said he felt he was deserving of the honor because he was a starter on a team in the thick of the Eastern Conference race. Before the league shut down because of the coronavirus outbreak March 11, the Heat were No. 4 in the conference standings. Nunn was the team's third-leading scorer.

Still, Anthony said that wasn't enough to surprass Morant, who leads all rookies in scoring. No. 1 pick Zion Williamson would top the list but failed to meet games requirement after missing most of the season due to injury.

"The only guy that you could even have a conversation about would be Zion but he's not going to have enough games to be in the conversation," Anthony said. "Again, this doesn't take away from what Kendrick's done. And he's right, his team is a playoff team but his team has also added Jimmy Butler to that roster. Oh by the way, Ja Morant is also a playoff contender right now with the Grizzlies and I could argue that he's their best player. I can't make that argument with Kendrick Nunn."

Anthony said the debate could add to a budding rivalry between the two rookies. The teams split their meetings this season, with the confident Nunn averaging 21 points, three assists and two rebounds. Morant's numbers were 17 points, seven assists and 2.5 rebounds a game.

"Now, there's going to be something that these two have to discuss when they meet up," Anthony said. "We do know that it looks like they're going to go up against one another for quite some time, hopefully if both have the kind of careers that their rookie campaigns have started off with."

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