Who Will Be NBA Rookie of the Year?

It’s a close race, but these are the frontrunners for the title of NBA Rookie of the Year.

Zion Williamson

Zion Williamson is the projected number one pick in the 2019 NBA draft. He is a 6’7″, 285-pound power forward from Duke University. Williamson is considered one of the best players in college basketball history. He is a powerful dunker with a wingspan of 7’3″. He was named the AP College Basketball Player of the Year.

Zion’s background

Zion Williamson was born in Salisbury, North Carolina, on July 6, 2000. He attended Spartanburg Day School in South Carolina before moving to China to play for the Nike-sponsored Adidas T-Mac Academy. In 2018, he returned to the United States and played college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils.

Williamson was named a McDonald’s All-American and won several other awards as a high school player. He was widely considered one of the best college basketball players in the country during his one season at Duke, and he was unanimously named the ACC Player of the Year. After averaging 22.6 points and 8.9 rebounds per game, he declared for the 2019 NBA draft where he is expected to be a top pick.

Zion’s stats

Zion Williamson was the number one pick in the 2019 draft. He is a 6’6″, 285-pound forward from Duke University. He was named the National Player of the Year by the Associated Press and Naismith Trophy. He was also named First Team All-American by the AP, USBWA, and Sporting News. Williamson averaged 22.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 2.1 steals, and 1.8 blocks per game while shooting 68 percent from the field and 32 percent from three-point range.

Ja Morant

Ja’s background

Ja Morant was born in Dalzell, South Carolina on February 16, 1999. He attended Crestwood High School in Sumter, South Carolina, where he played basketball. Morant was named a McDonald’s All-American as a senior in 2017. He played one season of college basketball for Murray State University, where he was named the Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year and the conference’s tournament MVP. Morant declare for the NBA draft after his freshman year, and is projected to be a lottery pick.

Ja’s stats

In his one and only college season, Morant averaged 24.5 points, 10.0 assists, and 5.7 rebounds per game. He was named the Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year and the Adolph Rupp Trophy winner as national player of the year. Morant led the Racers to a school-record 28 wins and their first NCAA tournament appearance in five years.

RJ Barrett

RJ Barrett played his first official game as a New York Knick on Wednesday night. Barrett, who was the third overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, looked every bit like a rookie in his debut. He scored just six points on 2-for-9 shooting from the field, but he also showed flashes of why he was one of the most coveted prospects in the draft.

RJ’s background

RJ Barrett was born in Toronto, Canada to Rowan Barrett, a retired professional basketball player, and Shannon Barrett. He has two brothers, one older and one younger. He grew up playing basketball and excelled at the sport from an early age. In high school, he was ranked as the number one high school player in the nation by ESPN and committed to play college basketball for Duke University.

As a freshman at Duke, Barrett averaged 22.6 points per game, 4.3 assists per game, and 8.6 rebounds per game. He was named the ACC Player of the Year and was a consensus first-team All-American. Following his freshman year, he declared for the 2019 NBA draft where he is expected to be a lottery pick.

RJ’s stats

RJ Barrett was the third overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft. He was drafted by the New York Knicks. Barrett is a 6’7″ shooting guard from Duke University. He was named a consensus first-team All-American as a freshman. Barrett averaged 22.6 points, 4.3 assists, and 7.6 rebounds per game for Duke.

Other potential candidates

Zion Williamson is the obvious choice for many people, but there are a few other players that could make a case for themselves. Ja Morant had a great season for the Memphis Grizzlies and was one of the best players in the NCAA tournament. RJ Barrett also had a great season for the Duke Blue Devils.

Bol Bol

The 7-foot-2 center out of Oregon was averaging an eye-popping 21 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game before a foot injury ended his season prematurely.
Bol’s game is built around his versatility and ability to shoot from deep – he made 52.0 percent of his 3-point attempts in college – which should make him an enticing prospect for teams looking for a big man who can space the floor.
His lengthy 7-foot-8 wingspan also gives him plenty of potential as a rim protector, though he will need to add strength to his 222-pound frame to be able to hold up against NBA centers on a nightly basis.

Tyler Herro

Entering the season, Tyler Herro was one of the most accomplished players in college basketball. He was a key member of the Kentucky Wildcats team that reached the Elite Eight in the 2019 NCAA tournament. His performance in that tournament caught the eye of NBA scouts, and he is now considered one of the top prospects in the 2019 NBA draft.

Herro is a 6’5″ shooting guard with a 7’0″ wingspan. He is an excellent shooter, both from long range and from mid-range. He is also a good ball-handler and passer, and has shown the ability to create his own shot. Herro’s strength is his scoring ability; he is an efficient scorer who can score in a variety of ways.

Herro is projected to be a lottery pick in the 2019 NBA draft. He is currently ranked as the 11th best prospect by ESPN, and 14th by Sports Illustrated. Herro has the potential to be a very good player in the NBA, and has a chance to be Rookie of the Year if he is drafted by the right team and given an opportunity to play significant minutes.

Kendrick Nunn

Nunn was undrafted in 2018, but he’s made a name for himself in the league over the past two seasons. He averaged 15.3 points and 3.3 assists per game for the Miami Heat last season and is off to a strong start this season, averaging 19.8 points, 4.2 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game. Nunn has a real chance to win Rookie of the Year if he can keep up his play for the entire season.

Who will win?

Zion Williamson of the New Orleans Pelicans and Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies are the two front-runners for the NBA Rookie of the Year Award. Zion Williamson is the favorite to win, but Ja Morant has had a very good season and could upset Zion. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of each player.

Zion Williamson

Zion Williamson is an American professional basketball player for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association. He played college basketball for one season with the Duke Blue Devils, winning several national and regional awardsfreshman of the year, as well as the Wayman Tisdale Award as the nation’s top freshman. He was widely considered one of the best players in the class of 2019, and one of the greatest freshman college basketball players ever. Williamson was selected first overall by the Pelicans in the 2019 NBA draft.

During his only season at Duke, Williamson averaged 22.6 points and 8.9 rebounds per game, while shooting 68.0 percent from the field and 33.8 percent from three-point range. He also averaged 2.1 blocks and 1.8 steals per game, leading Duke in both categories. His dunks attracted widespread attention on social media, and he earned nicknames such as “The Zioncurtain” and “Knights of Zion”. Williamson set multiple acc career records, including most points in a season by a freshman (841) and most games with 20 or more points (30), also a conference freshman record. He was a consensus first-team All-American and was named both National Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year by various media outlets.

Ja Morant

Ja Morant is an American professional basketball player for the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Murray State Racers. Morant was selected with the second overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft by the Grizzlies.

As a freshman at Murray State in 2017–18, Morant averaged 12.7 points, 6.3 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game, and was named Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) Freshman of the Year. In his sophomore season in 2018–19, he was named OVC Player of the Year after averaging 24.5 points, 10 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game, becoming only the second player to average at least 20 points and 10 assists per game in NCAA Division I history; joining Oscar Robertson as the only other player to do so. He helped lead Murray State to a perfect 16–0 record in conference play and was also named a consensus first-team All-American. At season’s end, he declared for the 2019 NBA draft where he is projected to be a lottery pick.

RJ Barrett

RJ Barrett is a Canadian professional basketball player for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played one season of college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils, earning second-team all-ACC honours. Barrett was selected third overall in the 2019 NBA draft by the Knicks.

Barrett was born and raised in Mississauga, Ontario, to Rowan Barrett and Worsty Wilkerson. He began playing organized basketball at age five. Growing up, he modelled his game after that of Kobe Bryant and tried to pattern his game after that of LeBron James. Barrett played AAU basketball with UPlay Canada under head coach Dwayne Washington Sr.. He attended Montverde Academy in Florida for high school where he won back-to-back High School national championships in 2017 and 2018. Barrett was ranked as the consensus No. 1 high school basketball player in 2018, where he averaged 22.6 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.2 steals per game.

In his only season at Duke University, Barrett averaged 22.6 points per game, 8.3 rebounds per game, 4.3 assists per game and 1 block per game while shooting 45 percent from the field and 30 percent from three-point range en route to being named a second-team all-ACC selection. He declared for the 2019 NBA draft after one season of college basketball, forgoing his final three years of collegiate eligibility.