NBA Rookie of the Year Power Rankings: Week 16
Each week, FanSided will be ranking the NBA rookies based on their performance so far this season.
Every member of the list, sans one, competed during All-Star Weekend.
Four of the five rookies on this list played in Friday night’s Rising Stars Game. New York Knicks’ guard Tim Hardaway, Jr. stole the show among rookies. He scored 36 points, including seven three-pointers. Philadelphia 76ers’ point guard Michael Carter-Williams had a nice night, finishing with 17 points and six rebounds. Orlando Magic guard Victor Oladipo had 13 points and four assists, Utah Jazz point guard Trey Burke scored six points and dished out six assists and Milwaukee Bucks’ guard Giannis Antetokounmpo had nine points, two rebounds and two assists. Sophomore Andre Drummond, who had 30 points and 25 rebounds, was named MVP.
Carter-Williams and Oladipo teamed up in the Taco Bell Skills Challenge while Burke was paired with Portland Trail Blazers’ point guard Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo, who has been on the list most of the season, teamed with Toronto Raptors’ guard DeMar DeRozan.
Carter-Williams and Oladipo lost to Burke and Lillard by one-tenth of a second in the final round. Antetokounmp’s team did not advance out of the first round.
Hardaway, Jr. competed in the Sears Shooting Stars event with his father, former Miami Heat great Tim Hardaway and the 2013 WNBA Rookie of the Year, Elena Della Donne. The event was won by Team Bosh.
After a short week, the rankings remain almost unchanged from week 14. Carter-Williams put up some big numbers, but none of the rookies had a particularly good week.
Memphis Grizzlies’ point guard Nick Calathes, who has excelled with starter Mike Conley out, replaces Antetokounmpo on the list.
1. Michael Carter-Williams, PG, Philadelphia 76ers
After a few poor games, Carter-Williams got back on the right track individually in a 123-80 blowout loss to the Golden State Warriors, the 76ers’ second consecutive loss by more than 40 points. Carter-Williams scored 24 points on eight-of-18 shooting, grabbed four rebounds and dished out three assists. Plus, he turned the ball just four times a day after turning it over eight times in a 123-78 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. The 76ers were competitive on Wednesday, but still suffered another loss, this time a 105-100 defeat at the hands of the Utah Jazz. Carter-Williams had 19 points on six-of-13 shooting, dished out eight assists, grabbed five rebounds, blocked three shots and had two steals. On the season, he’s averaging 17.1 points, 6.5 assists, 5.4 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game.
2. Victor Oladipo, G, Orlando Magic
Oladipo played in just one game this week after leading the Magic to improbable victories over the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers with his fourth quarter heroics. Oladipo scored seven points on two-of-11 shooting and had two assists, one rebound, one blocked shot and one steal in just 26 minutes in an 86-81 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies Wednesday night. He’s now averaging 13.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.6 steals per game.
3. Trey Burke, PG, Utah Jazz
Burke’s Jazz earned a pair of victories this week and they have now won three straight games to improve to 19-33 on the season. In a 96-79 win over the Los Angeles Lakers Tuesday, Burke had eight points, eight assists, two rebounds and a steal. In Wednesday night’s 105-100 over the Philadelphia 76ers, Burke was even worse, scoring seven points on three-of-12 shooting. He also had two rebounds and two assists. Burke continues to see his averages drop – he’s now putting up 12.5 points, 5.5 assists and 3.1 rebounds per game.
4. Tim Hardaway, Jr. G, New York Knicks
Hardaway, Jr.’s Knicks were involved in just one contest this week and it was another loss, this time an embarrassing 106-101 home defeat at the hands of the Sacramento Kings. Hardaway, Jr. scored only seven points on three-of-12 shooting with two rebounds and an assist. He’s now averaging 9.2 points and 1.5 rebounds per game.
5. Nick Calathes, PG, Memphis Grizzlies
Since replacing injured Mike Conley in the lineup, Grizzlies’ point guard Nick Calathes has excelled. On Tuesday, in a 92-89 win over the Washington Wizards, Calathes scored 18 points on eight-of-12 shooting, grabbed seven rebounds, dished out six assists and had two steals. In a homecoming Wednesday night against the Orlando Magic (Calathes went to Lake Howell High School just outside of Orlando and played for the Florida Gators), he had 12 points on six-of-14 shooting to go with six assists, five rebounds, four steals and two blocks in an 86-81 victory. Since becoming a starter, Calathes has averaged 15.1 points, 4.8 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 2.5 steals in seven games. He’s averaging 5.0 points, 2.7 assists and 1.7 rebounds per game in the season.
In: Calathes
Out: Giannis Antetokounmpo, G, Milwaukee Bucks
Antetokounmpo also had a rough week. In two games, a 102-86 loss to the Boston Celtics Monday and a 102-98 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans Wednesday, he scored seven total points on just two-of-eight shooting. He logged 27 minutes against the Celtics and was able to grab four rebounds. He played 20 minutes against the Pelicans and grabbed three rebounds and had one assist, one block and one steal. Antetokounmpo is averaging 6.9 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.