Predicting Which Top-20 NBA Rookies Will Be 2016-17 Studs or Duds

September 22nd, 2016 by Josh Martin Leave a reply »
If the 2015-16 season was your introduction to the NBA, you probably have great expectations for what a rookie class can and should be.

Last year's crop of debutantes was one of the most productive in recent memory. Karl-Anthony Towns, the unanimous Rookie of the Year, looked like a budding superstar from his second game on with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Kristaps Porzingis exploded onto the scene early in the campaign. Devin Booker and D'Angelo Russell made major waves late. Nikola Jokic flew under the radar entirely. Myles Turner, Justise Winslow, Stanley Johnson and Frank Kaminsky all played significant roles in the postseason. Even Jahlil Okafor, despite all his troubles with the Philadelphia 76ers, nearly came away as the leading scorer in his class.

Good luck finding even half as many big-time performers out of the gate in this year's group. The 2016 draft had the makings of a weaker one from the start, and with training camp right around the corner, that perception has hardly shifted.

In theory, the newest rookies could all develop into real contributors at the NBA level. In practice, only a handful are poised to perform like ...

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