NBA Rookie Power Rankings: Jared McCain is becoming a star, Stephon Castle does it all
By Quinn Everts
Most NBA rookies are bad. Even players who go on to be All-Stars, All-NBA-levels, even MVP candidates often struggle in their rookie seasons, because adjusting to the pace, size, strength and athleticism in the NBA is a pretty big hurdle. So a successful rookie season has to be judged on a separate scale from a successful season for a player who's been around a while.
As we pass the 20 percent mark of the NBA season, numerous players from what was viewed as a weak rookie class are revving up and providing some considerable minutes for their teams.
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1. Jared McCain
The Sixers standout rookie has posted a few duds recently but a cold stretch isn't enough to knock him out of the top spot in the rookie rankings. McCain is bucking a few rookie trends; the main one being that rookies are usually role players who — even if they play well — aren't the focal point of a team's offense. Not the case here. McCain is pretty much the most important Sixer who has played the whole year, and the offensive load he's carrying is considerable.
McCain is averaging 16.0 points with a 58.5 percent true shooting, has five 20-point games and two 30-point games, and might have a real case for Sixth Man of the Year if he heads back to a bench role when the Sixers get healthy... sorry, if the Sixers get healthy.
2. Stephon Castle
If a rookie does one thing per game that makes you take a note, then things are going the right direction. Castle does about four of those things per game, as the San Antonio Spurs rookie has looked all the parts of the do-it-all point guard the Spurs hoped they were getting when they drafted him.
The shooting splits aren't pretty — Castle is shooting 38.8 percent from the field and 28.9 percent from 3-point, but efficiency numbers shouldn't be taken too seriously for 20 year-old rookies. Those splits especially shouldn't be worried about with Castle, who already does so many things well. His feel for the game was one of the reasons he was a top five pick in the draft, and his ability to control a game is already evident.
3. Jaylen Wells
Picking Wells in the draft was an ultimate heat check for the Grizzlies. Basically a "well, everyone else we take seems to be good, so let's see if the guy who played at Sonoma State for two seasons can do anything for us," and, yeah, apparently he can.
Wells played one year at Washington State and that was enough for Memphis to use a second-round pick on him, a second-round pick that looks like the ultimate steal through one-fifth of Wells' rookie season.
That idea of rookies not usually being good players? It doesn't really apply to Wells. He acclimated to the NBA game stunningly fast, and the Grizzlies don't give him 25 minutes a night because they want him to develop quickly, they give him 25 minutes a night because he is already a good NBA basketball player. He shoots well, he cuts well, he defends well, he hustles. He's on a team that wants to win a lot this season and he's helping them do that.
Get ready for Wells to be the favorite player of your most annoying friend (me) in about three years.
4. Zaccharie Risacher
I attended the 2024 NBA Draft, and there I met a group of about 15 French men in matching red shirts that just kept shouting "Risacher! Risacher!"
They convinced me that Risacher is going to be a star and although I didn't quite buy it at the time... they might be on to something. Risacher is 19 years old so growing pains are to be expected, but the "highs" of his first month-plus in the NBA have been very, very high, including a 33-point outburst against the Knicks last month. As of publication, he's posted four straight efficient outings — recording at least a steal and block in each of those games, too.
The two-way upside is pretty obvious for Risacher, who moves incredibly well for his size. In hindsight, picking the 6-foot-8 wing who can shoot and defend the perimeter might not have been such a crazy pick at No. 1 for the Hawks.
5. Dalton Knecht
Knechtmania has died down a little... for now. After a five-game stretch where it felt like Knecht couldn't miss, he started missing a little. He's still shooting 41 percent from deep, though, and the Los Angeles Lakers flamethrowing rookie is clearly capable of being the No. 2 scoring option on this Lakers team behind Anthony Davis some nights — a crazy sentence for a rookie taken outside of the lottery.
That scoring upside will come in handy too, as the explosive offense this team showcased early in the season has quickly fizzled — all the way down to No. 23 in the past 10 games. Knecht is going to play a big role on getting this offense back on track. Is that fair to ask of a rookie? Probably not!