Who Won Rookie of the Year in the NBA?

We take a look at the Rookie of the Year winners in the NBA over the last decade to see who has had the most success.

2017 NBA Rookies

The 2017 NBA draft class was one of the most hyped in recent memory. forecasts predicted that as many as six to eight players from the class could go on to have All-Star careers. Many experts even called it the best draft class since 2003.

Ben Simmons

Ben Simmons (born 20 July 1996) is an Australian professional basketball player for the Philadelphia
76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for one season with the Louisiana State University (LSU) Tigers, when he was named a consensus first-team All-American and the USBWA National Freshman of the Year. He was selected with the first overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft by the 76ers.

Donovan Mitchell

Donovan Mitchell (born September 7, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Louisville Cardinals. Mitchell was born in Elmsford, New York and grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut. His mother is Francine Davis, while his father, Donovan Mitchell Sr., played minor league baseball. Mitchell Jr. was inspired to play baseball like his father, but chose basketball instead since it did not require as much travel.

During his freshman year of high school, Mitchell transferred to Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. In his senior year, he helped lead the team to a 32–1 record and a NEPSAC Class AAA title. He was subsequently named Mr. New Hampshire Basketball. A five-star recruit, Mitchell committed to playing college basketball for Louisville over offers from Georgia Tech, Ohio State, Rutgers and Temple.[1][2]

As a freshman at Louisville in 2015–16, Mitchell averaged 7.4 points and 2.7 rebounds per game.[3] He improved those numbers to 15.6 points and 4.9 rebounds per game as a sophomore,[4] also earning ACC All-Defensive Team honors.[5] After declaring for the 2017 NBA draft,[6] he was selected by the Denver Nuggets with the 13th overall pick.[7][8] However, he was later traded to the Utah Jazz.[9][10] In his rookie season with the Jazz in 2017–18, Mitchell averaged 20.5 points and 3.7 assists per game en route to being named NBA Rookie of the Year.[11][12][13]

Jayson Tatum

Jayson Tatum (born March 3, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for one season with the Duke Blue Devils before being selected with the third overall pick by the Celtics in the 2017 NBA draft. In July 2017, he was named to the promotion list for the USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Team minicamp.

2018 NBA Rookies

This season saw some incredible performances from first-year players, making the competition for Rookie of the Year more heated than ever. In the end, there could only be one winner. Who took home the title this year?

Luka Doncic

In 2018, the NBA rookie of the year award goes to Slovenian guard/forward Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks. The 6-foot-7, 218-pound slasher averaged 21.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game while shooting 43.7 percent from the field and 32.7 percent from three-point range. He is the first European-born player to win the award and only the second international player to win it ( joining Vancouver, Canada’s Steve Nash).

Trae Young

The winner of the 2018 NBA Rookie of the Year Award was Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks. Young was drafted 5th overall in the 2018 NBA Draft by the Dallas Mavericks, but was immediately traded to the Atlanta Hawks. In his rookie season, Young averaged 19.1 points and 8.1 assists per game, leading all rookies in both categories. He was also named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team.

Deandre Ayton

The 2018 NBA Rookie of the Year was awarded to Deandre Ayton of the Phoenix Suns on Monday. The 20-year-old center received 87 first-place votes and went on to beat out Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks for the award. Ayton averaged a double-double during his rookie season, putting up 16.3 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. He is just the second Suns player to win Rookie of the Year, joining Amar’e Stoudemire who won the award back in 2003.

2019 NBA Rookies

Zion Williamson of the New Orleans Pelicans won the 2019 NBA Rookie of the Year Award, it was announced on Monday. Williamson, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, averaged 22.5 points and 6.3 rebounds in 24 games during his rookie season.

Zion Williamson

Zion Williamson (born July 6, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for one season with the Duke Blue Devils, earning NABC Player of the Year honors. He was selected by the Pelicans first overall in the 2019 NBA draft.

In high school, Williamson was widely regarded as the top player in his class and one of the greatest high school players of all time. As a senior, he was named a consensus first-team All-American and won several national player of the year awards. He entered college as a projected one-and-done player for Duke and was named to multiple preseason All-American teams.

Williamson played only 33 games for Duke before declaring for the draft; he injured his knee in his fourth game. Despite playing fewer than half of Duke’s games, he was unanimously selected to the ACC All-Freshman team. Williamson was also named Naismith College Player of the Year, USBWA National Freshman of the Year, Sporting News freshman POY, and Wayman Tisdale Award winner as NCAA freshman POY.

Ja Morant

Ja Morant, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft by the Memphis Grizzlies, is the 2019-20 NBA Rookie of the Year. Morant was a unanimous selection, receiving all 100 first-place votes from a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters.

RJ Barrett

Rookie of the Year is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given to the top rookie of the regular season. The winner is selected by a panel of United States and Canadian sportswriters and broadcasters, each of whom casts a vote for first, second, and third place selections. The player with the highest point total, regardless of the number of first-place votes, wins the award.

This year’s favorite for Rookie of the Year is Zion Williamson of the New Orleans Pelicans. Zion was drafted 1st overall in the 2019 NBA draft out of Duke University. He’s one of the most dominant rookies we’ve seen in years, and he’s been compared to some all-time greats like Lebron James and Shaquille O’Neal.

But there are other talented rookies in this year’s class as well, like RJ Barrett of the New York Knicks. RJ was also drafted 1st overall, but he played his collegiate career at nearby University of Arizona. RJ is a 6’7” shooting guard that can score from anywhere on the floor. He average 22 points per game as a rookie, and he looks like he has a very bright future in the NBA.