We’ve effectively come to a close on the rookie seasons for the class of 2021, and it’s safe to say this group met the preseason hype. Each of the top four picks showed flashes of All-NBA potential, and you can debate which of the quartet will be the best player for the next decade. Cade Cunningham could emerge as Luka-lite in Detroit. Jalen Green could very well bring the scoring title back to Houston. And the likely top finishers in the Rookie of the Year vote, Evan Mobley and Scottie Barnes, are already powering a pair of playoff teams.
There’s more than just top-end talent in the 2021 class. Thirteen rookies posted at least two win shares this season. Eighteen players tallied at least 500 points. There are potential All-Stars outside the top four (paging Jonathan Kuminga) and a cast of contributors who should populate NBA rosters across the 2020s and beyond. We’ll wait a few years to make any comparisons to the historic classes in 1996 and 2003. But the influx of talent in the league this season is truly something to behold.
Let’s hand out some hardware to close the season with our Rookie of the Year ballot followed by the All-Rookie teams.
