Who Is the NBA Rookie of the Year for 2021?

The favorite to win the NBA’s Rookie of the Year Award for the 2020-2021 season is LaMelo Ball.

Zion Williamson

Zion Williamson of the New Orleans Pelicans is the NBA Rookie of the Year for the 2020-21 season. This is according to a vote by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. Williamson is the first player from the Pelicans to win the award since it was first given out in the 1952-53 season.

Early Life and High School Career

Zion Williamson was born on July 6, 2000, in Salisbury, North Carolina. He played basketball and football in high school, but it was clear early on that his future was in basketball. He was a consensus five-star recruit and was ranked as the number one player in the class of 2018 by 247Sports.com, ESPN.com, and Rivals.com.

Williamson attended Spartanburg Day School in Spartanburg, South Carolina for his freshman and sophomore years of high school before transferring to High Point Christian Academy for his junior and senior years. As a junior, he averaged 28.5 points per game and 11 rebounds per game, leading his team to a 29-3 record and a conference championship. He was named the Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year as a senior after averaging 32.6 points per game, 12 rebounds per game, 4 assists per game, and 3 steals per game.

Williamson led High Point Christian Academy to back-to-back state championships in 2017 and 2018. He was named the North Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year twice (2017 & 2018) and was a McDonald’s All-American in 2018.

College Career

Zion Williamson was a top recruit coming out of high school. He played one season of college basketball for Duke University. In his lone season at Duke, Williamson averaged 22.6 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. He led the Blue Devils to a 32-6 record and a berth in the Elite Eight of the 2019 NCAA Tournament. For his efforts, Williamson was named the Associated Press College Basketball Player of the Year, the Naismith College Player of the Year, and the Wooden Award Winner as the nation’s top player.

Professional Career

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 National Player of the Year and ACC Player of the Year honors. He was selected first overall by the Pelicans in the 2019 NBA draft.

During his rookie season, Williamson earned nods on several All-Rookie teams and was named Rookie of the Month three times. In 2020–21, he was again named Rookie of the Month three times, and on May 12, 2021, he was unanimously voted as the NBA Rookie of the Year.

Ja Morant

Ja Morant had an incredible rookie season for the Memphis Grizzlies. He averaged 17.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 7.3 assists per game. Morant was also named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team.

Early Life and High School Career

Ja Morant was born in Dalzell, South Carolina, on August 10, 1999. His parents, Jamie and Tee Morant, were both athletes; his father played college football while his mother ran track. Growing up, Morant was exposed to a variety of sports including basketball, football, and track and field. He began playing organized basketball in fifth grade.

In high school, Morant played for Crestwood Preparatory College, a private boarding school in Toronto, Ontario. In his sophomore year, he averaged 21.3 points per game (ppg), 8.2 assists per game (apg), and 6.5 rebounds per game (rpg). The following year, he helped lead Crestwood to a 30-5 record and the championship game of the Ontario Scholastic Basketball Association (OSBA) tournament where they ultimately lost to Bill Crothers Secondary School. During his senior year, Morant averaged 28.7 ppg, 11.4 apg, and 7.5 rpg while leading Crestwood to a 27-7 record and another appearance in the OSBA tournament where they again lost in the championship game, this time to Thornlea Secondary School.

Upon graduating from high school in 2017, Morant was not highly recruited by colleges and universities in the United States. He ultimately chose to play college basketball for Murray State University, a Division I school in Murray, Kentucky.

College Career

Ja Morant was a stud in college, leading the NCAA in points per game and assists per game en route to Murray State’s first ever NCAA tournament win in over 20 years. He declared for the NBA draft following his sophomore season, and was selected 2nd overall by the Memphis Grizzlies.

Professional Career

In his lone college season with Murray State, Morant averaged 24.5 points, 10 assists, 5.7 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game, leading the Racers to a program-record 30 wins and their first NCAA tournament appearance in 17 years. He became just the second player in NCAA Division I history to average 20 points and 10 assists in a season, joining Oscar Robertson (1959–60). On February 16, 2019, Morant had a triple double with 27 points, 11 rebounds and 16 assists in an 83–64 win over UT Martin. It was the first triple double by a Racer since Jeff Martin had one in 1987. In the Ohio Valley Conference tournament championship game on March 9, Morant led Murray State to a 77–65 victory over Belmont with 27 points and 11 assists for his second career triple double.[21] As a result of his outstanding play that season, Morant was named Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year as well as being a consensus first-team All-American.

After declaring for the 2019 NBA draft following his sophomore season, Morant was selected with the second overall pick by the Memphis Grizzlies.

Other Candidates

There are a few other candidates that could have a shot at being the NBA Rookie of the Year for 2021. Orlando Magic’s Cole Anthony and Charlotte Hornets’ LaMelo Ball are two names that come to mind. Both players have been putting up great numbers and have been impressing a lot of people. Let’s take a look at some of the other candidates.

RJ Barrett

RJ Barrett is a Canadian professional basketball player for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected with the third overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft. Barrett played one season of college basketball for Duke University before declaring for the draft. He was named a consensus first-team All-American as a freshman after leading Duke in scoring and rebounding

Tyler Herro

Tyler Herro was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to parents Jennifer and Chris Herro. He has two sisters, Lindsey and Liza. Tyler started playing basketball when he was 5 years old. He played AAU basketball for the Milwaukee Spartans. In high school, he played for Whitnall High School. During his senior year, he averaged 30.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.9 steals per game. He was named First Team All-State by the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA).

Herro played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats. As a freshman, he averaged 14.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. He was named SEC Newcomer of the Year and First Team All-SEC by the Associated Press (AP).

Herro was drafted 13th overall by the Miami Heat in the 2019 NBA draft. In July 2019, he signed a contract with the Heat. As a rookie, he averaged 13.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.

Kendrick Nunn

Kendrick Nunn is an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Oakland Golden Grizzlies, where he was named the Mid-Major Defensive Player of the Year as a junior in 2015. As a senior in 2016–17, he averaged 20.5 points and 6.8 assists per game, leading Oakland to a share of the Horizon League regular season championship. Nunn went undrafted in the 2017 NBA draft but signed with the Golden State Warriors after impressing during Summer League play. He was later assigned to their NBA G League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors. In his first season with Santa Cruz, Nunn was named to the All-NBA G League First Team.