It can be tricky to evaluate rookies as they roll through their first year in the league.
Small sample sizes can breed results that aren’t exactly in line with a player’s performance, and a few hot games may present a budding star when a player’s profile otherwise suggests a rotation player. Fail to take the entire body of work into account, and you may enter Year 2 with an obscured vision of a player’s future.
We’re beginning to get a more clear picture of the 2021 class’s future with fewer than two months left in the regular season. Evan Mobley looks like Cleveland’s star of the future, while Cade Cunningham still looks the part of a leading man. Dig a little further, and there are numerous nonlottery players who should hang around the league across the next decade. So how can we measure the impact of various rookies across the league? Let’s dive into one key stat for each of the league’s top rookies as the playoff push begins.
