Evan Mobley has been steadily considered the favorite to win the Rookie of the Year award this season, according to NBA.com rankings.
Mobley is a standout talent in an elite rookie class, where the top-3 players are tough to be separated from one another. The Cavs’ center took his first taste of a kind of postseason basketball against the Nets Tuesday.
He had 19 points showing his all-around game in an almost must-win contest. Cleveland could not get past the almighty Nets, but, Mobley helped his team remain in the game even after going down 20 in the first quarter.
Mobley’s ability and maturity was his biggest weapon. He put up 15.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists through 69 regular season contests leading all rookies in rebounds, blocks and doubles-doubles.
More importantly, he was a crucial part of the Cleveland Cavaliers, who established a winning culture this season and earned their first winning season since the 2017-18 season.
At no.2, Scottie Barnes was a close-second contestant for the ROTY award, according to NBA.com. He averaged 15.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists during the regular season filling different roles for Toronto’s head coach Nick Nurse.
The no.4 overall pick has already exceeded the expectation for people, who did not know him when the Raptors decided to select him last summer. However, Barnes has the ability to become a superstar, showing some great highlights in the process.
Cade Cunningham remained third in the NBA rankings after a slow start to the season. He found his rhythm after the All-Star break averaging 21.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 6.5 assists over his final 20 games and shooting 45 percent from the field.
The 23-59 Pistons went 8-12 in the last 20 games showing great promise ahead of the 2022-23 regular season. In the meantime, Detroit will have the chance to place another prized rookie in its roster this summer via the 2022 NBA Draft.
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