At some point during this season, the NBA's rookie wall was replaced with a trampoline.
Even with three of the top seven picks on the shelf—Joel Embiid out all year after foot surgery, Julius Randle sidelined since opening night with a broken leg, Jabari Parker gone since December with a torn ACL—this batch of first-timers has powered toward the completion of its debut campaign.
Andrew Wiggins, long ago cemented as the top-scoring freshman, continues lighting the lamp with regularity. Elfrid Payton has been an assist machine and a constant presence on the glass. Nerlens Noel remains the top defensive power in this class, and Nikola Mirotic is still doing damage on a crowded Chicago Bulls frontcourt.
Those four sat atop our last rookie ladder, and that part of the conversation hasn't changed. But that just means it's still crowded near the top rung and deep behind it.
We're not looking to gauge the careers sitting in front of these freshman phenoms. Rather, we're ranking what they've done this season and closely examining their recent contributions.
A tight-knit race down the stretch has sent these first-year ba ...
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Article written by Zach Buckley
2015 NBA Rookie Ladder: Last-Chance Look at Regular-Season Progress
April 14th, 2015 by Zach Buckley Leave a reply »
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