NBA Rookie of the Year Power Rankings: Week 1
Each week, FanSided will be ranking the NBA rookies based on the performance so far this season.
Before the season began, Orlando Magic guard Victor Oladipo was the favorite to win the Rookie of the Year award and although Oladipo has gotten off to a fantastic start, he starts the year in the second spot.
1. Michael Carter-Williams, PG, Philadelphia 76ers
Carter-Williams has been an absolute stud since the second he stepped onto an NBA court. In his regular season debut, all Carter-Williams did was score 22 points, dish out 12 assists, record nine steals and grab seven rebounds in a 114-110 victory over the two-time defending champion Miami Heat. He’s averaged 20.7 points, 9.0 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game, leading the 76ers to a 3-0 start. His biggest question mark entering the draft was ability to shoot the ball. Well, he’s shot 47.1% from beyond the arc so far.
2. Victor Oladipo, G, Orlando Magic
Oladipo has had turnover issues (4.5 per game), most rookies do. Oladipo has averaged 13.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.8 steals per game while playing both guard spots. He’s adjusting to the position of point guard better than most believed he could. He’s showed off his fantastic athleticism and has a knack for getting to the basket. Oladipo is coming off his best game – he had 19 points, six rebounds and four assists in just 21 minutes as the Magic defeated the Brooklyn Nets107-86 Sunday evening.
3. Vitor Faverani, C, Boston Celtics
So this is quite a surprise, but take a look at the big man from Brazil’s numbers. Faverani has been excellent, averaging 11.0 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.3 blocks per game for the winless Celtics. The big man has been one of the surprises of the league and has a PER of 22.99 through three games. He’s shooting 57.1% from the field and 64.3% from the free throw line. Overall, he’s been a terror in the paint and has a block percentage of 8.7%.
4. Kelly Olynyk, F/C, Boston Celtics
Most would have expected Olynyk, the star of the Orlando Pro Summer League, to be higher on this list than the unheard of Faverani. Olynyk struggled in his first two games, scoring just eight total points and grabbing only two rebounds. On Sunday in an 87-77 loss to the Detroit Pistons, Olynyk scored 15 points on six-of-11 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds, raising his average to 7.7 points and 3.3 rebounds per game.
5. Nate Wolters, PG, Milwaukee Bucks
Wolters was a machine at South Dakota State and his game seems to be translating better to the NBA than most could have imagined. Wolters is averaging 10.0 points, 6.7 assists and 2.3 rebounds per game. Wolters’ problem has been shooting – he’s shooting just 36.7% from the field 22.2% from beyond the arc, which is the reason he nearly didn’t make this list. If he wants to remain anywhere near the top five, he’ll have to show improvement in that area.