Kia Rookie Ladder: Paolo Banchero seems primed for some hardware
All season, Paolo Banchero has been delivering strong performances for the Magic.
Claims of an actual competition here at the Kia Rookie Ladder, to quote Mark Twain, were overstated.
Paolo Banchero’s chances of winning the NBA’s Kia Rookie of the Year Award are far from over. With five days remaining in the regular season, his prospects are looking quite bright and positive.
Granted, Banchero’s grip on the top spot for nearly the entire season — on the strength of his fast start (22.7 points per game in his first 15 games), followed by East rookie honors in December, January and February — drained suspense from the award chase. But a thirst for something more competitive, a tighter award chase to add some intrigue when ballots are cast in the final days, has been wishful thinking, salted with a little recency bias.
The truth is, other members of the 2022 Class like Bennedict Mathurin from the Indiana Pacers, Jalen Williams from the Oklahoma City Thunder, Walker Kessler from the Utah Jazz, and a few others have been vying for second or third place and spots on the All-Rookie first team. Though the Ladder committee only has one vote in the NBA’s official awards campaign, it’s difficult to foresee any of these competitors surpassing the standout forward from the Orlando Magic.
Consider Williams, who is now a valuable player for OKC and will continue to be in the future due to his diverse skills. The Santa Clara wing has shown significant improvement post-All-Star split, with stats that put him right behind Banchero: 19.1 points per game, 5.6 rebounds per game, and 4.3 assists per game, contributing to his team’s 10-13 record during this period.
In the same period, Banchero’s statistics were as follows: 20.2 points per game, 7.6 rebounds per game, 4.1 assists per game, and a 10-10 stretch for the Magic. Additionally, in the two-thirds of the season leading up to the All-Star, Banchero was unequivocally the more influential player.
That’s not to suggest the Ladder has no sense of humor. Consider this humorous Tweet from a couple of weeks ago from an OKC beat writer. (We’re dead-set against explaining punchlines here at HQ, but for context, that’s the Thunder’s Jaylin Williams, the No. 34 overall pick, reacting on Draft night to the team’s selection of Jalen Williams 22 spots earlier.)
Here’s a look at the top rookies this season, with just 12 days remaining in 2022-23.
The Top 5 this week on the 2022-23 Kia Rookie Ladder:
(All stats through Tuesday, April 4)
1. Paolo Banchero, Orlando Magic
Season stats: 20.0 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 3.7 apg
Since last Ladder: 21.3 ppg, 10.3 rpg, 4.3 apg
Last Ladder: No. 1
Draft pick: No. 1 overall
Undeniably, Jamahl Mosley, the coach of the towering player, is partial. However, the idea that Banchero could be surpassed for the ROY award seemed highly erroneous to Mosley. “This isn’t a competition,” the coach expressed to journalists, proceeding to lay out his arguments. Additionally, ESPN.com’s Tim McMahon mentioned: “Any newcomer who has managed to average at least 19 points, six rebounds, and three assists post the ABA-NBA merger has secured the Rookie of the Year title. Banchero is set to join the ranks of Luka Doncic, Blake Griffin, Grant Hill, Larry Johnson, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and Walter Davis in that exclusive club.”
https://t.co/cRL6QzEC9O pic.twitter.com/CfHl3OiJdt
— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) April 5, 2023
2. Jalen Williams, Oklahoma City Thunder
Season stats: 14.1 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 3.3 apg
Since last Ladder: 18.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 4.0 apg
Last Ladder: No. 2
Draft pick: No. 12 overall
How much has Thunder coach Mark Daigneault come to rely on Williams? So much so that he wound up with a technical foul and had to burn a timeout Tuesday at Golden State when the referees didn’t properly permit the versatile rookie to sub in midway through the fourth quarter. OKC wound up losing by 11 but a one-possession game ballooned to a six-point Warriors lead with the error (acknowledged afterward in a pool report by crew chief Courtney Kirkland).
What a way to end the half! pic.twitter.com/jjZXuIpEYc
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) April 5, 2023
3. Walker Kessler, Utah Jazz
Season stats: 9.2 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 2.3 bpg
Since last Ladder: 11.7 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 1.7 bpg
Last Ladder: No. 3
Draft pick: No. 22 overall
An accidental hit to the head by teammate Talen Horton-Tucker on Monday might have cut short Kessler’s rookie season, as it landed him in concussion protocol. Kessler leads all rookies with his 20 double-doubles and is fourth in the NBA for total blocks and blocks per game (2.3). He’s also the top player in terms of field-goal percentage (.720). As a starter, he averages 11.5 points per game, 10.2 rebounds per game, and 2.7 blocks per game.
The rookie @WalkerKessler13 has basketball in his DNA
We sat down with his dad and brother to talk about family games of 1-on-1 and watching Walker shine in the NBA.#JazzFeatures | @AFCU
FULL VIDEO: https://t.co/WZWICuCIkU pic.twitter.com/t7Is2QZ7Zv— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) April 3, 2023
4. Jaden Ivey, Detroit Pistons
Season stats: 16.0 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 5.1 apg
Since last Ladder: 21.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 7.8 apg
Last Ladder: No. 4
Draft pick: No. 5 overall
In Tuesday’s game against Miami, Ivey scored at least 30 points and made five assists for the third time. The last rookie to exceed this was Luka Doncic, who achieved this feat six times four years ago as a Dallas guard. Ivey holds the record for the highest number of assists (365) among all rookies, surpassing Andrew Nembhard (313). He also ranks third in terms of points scored (1,136), the highest by a Pistons rookie since Grant Hill’s 1,394 points 28 years ago. However, he also ranks 10th in the NBA for turnovers (223) and ninth for fouls (231), indicating the aggressive approach Detroit has taken with him.
.@IveyJaden extending his range with the pull-up three#Pistons pic.twitter.com/Wr3YqkQN2E
— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) April 5, 2023
5. Bennedict Mathurin, Indiana Pacers
Season stats: 16.6 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.4 apg
Since last Ladder: 21.0 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 0.7 apg
Last Ladder: No. 5
Draft pick: No. 6 overall
Mathurin has not been successful in shooting three-pointers at a high rate, with only 5 out of 18 successful attempts in his last four games, and an overall season success rate of 32%. However, he managed to break a new record in Indiana for the highest number of three pointers by a rookie, now standing at 97, thus overtaking Chris Duarte’s previous record of 94 from the previous season. Despite starting in his last eight games, Mathurin continues to be the league’s top scorer from the bench with 1,028 points, and has made the highest number of visits to the foul line by a bench player at 353, which is over 100 more than any other player.
the rookies led the way singing happy birthday to Daniel Theis after practice today! pic.twitter.com/7lWupKGL6s
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) April 4, 2023
The Next 7:
6. Keegan Murray, Sacramento Kings
Season stats: 11.9 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 1.2 apg
Since last Ladder: 18.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.5 apg
Last Ladder: No. 6
Draft pick: No. 4 overall
Surpassed Donovan Mitchell’s rookie record for 3-pointers made, now holding a total of 201 with a 41.6% success rate.
7. Jabari Smith, Jr., Houston Rockets
Season stats: 12.7 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 1.3 apg
Since last Ladder: 13.8 ppg, 10.5 rpg, 1.3 apg
Last Ladder: No. 7
Draft pick: No. 3 overall
In Tuesday’s upset of Denver, they scored 16 points, secured 13 rebounds and had a plus-17.
8. Jalen Duren, Detroit Pistons
Season stats: 9.1 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 1.1 apg
Since last Ladder: 12.0 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 0.3 apg
Last Ladder: No. 9
Draft pick: No. 13 overall
On a podcast, Paul George expressed, “I hope they don’t hinder that kid’s development.”
9. Tari Eason, Houston Rockets
Season stats: 9.2 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 1.0 apg
Since last Ladder: 6.3 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 1.3 apg
Last Ladder: No. 8
Draft pick: No. 17 pick overall
He leads all NBA reserves with 82 steals. He’s also sixth in minutes and 10th in points.
10. Andrew Nembhard, Indiana Pacers
Season stats: 9.3 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 4.3 apg
Since last Ladder: 15.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 9.7 apg
Last Ladder: No. 11
Draft pick: No. 31 overall
Ranked second in total assists among rookies, with an assist/turnover ratio of 3.67 since January.
11. Jeremy Sochan, San Antonio Spurs
Season stats: 11.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.5 apg
Since last Ladder: DNP
Last Ladder: No. 10
Draft pick: No. 9 pick overall
This could be the end (due to a right knee injury), after 56 games providing a preview of the Spurs’ future.
12. Shaedon Sharpe, Portland Trail Blazers
Season stats: 9.6 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.1 apg
Since last Ladder: 26.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 6.0 apg
Last Ladder: No. 12
Draft pick: No. 7 pick overall
He has scored 20+ points for eight nights, including seven in his last eight games.
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Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter.
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