NBA Awards Watch: The All-Star Break ballot
By Brad Rowland
Rookie of the Year
Andrew Wiggins, Minnesota Timberwolves – Wiggins leads the Rookie of the Year race by a wider margin than any other award category. That gap is a result of both the exceptional play of Wiggins and a relatively weak crop of competitors (magnified by Jabari Parker’s absence), but the 19-year-old number one overall pick has lived up to expectations. Wiggins averaged 19.8 points per game in January, effectively ending the race for good, and he leads all rookies in scoring (15.2 points per game) and minutes. The debate rages about who “won” the Kevin Love-Andrew Wiggins trade, but Minnesota should be happy with their return.
Elfrid Payton, Orlando Magic – Much like Wiggins, Payton has ascended since the calendar shifted to 2015. Since that time, Orlando’s franchise point guard is averaging 10.0 points, 6.4 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game with a highly respectable 45.8% shooting clip from the floor, and that has been enough to vault him up the rankings. Payton’s length and defensive acumen are huge in providing value, but signs of growth offensively should have any Orlando fan encouraged.
Nerlens Noel, Philadelphia 76ers – Noel has been the most impactful defensive player in this class by a considerable margin. His teammate, K.J. McDaniels produced several “wow” plays in the first two months, but with apologies to the former Clemson product (who has been very good), Noel’s been more valuable. His offense has been slow to mature, but Noel leads the class in rebounds (7.2 per game) and blocks (1.69 per game) the combination of defense and workload matters a great deal.
Next: Most Valuable Player