The debate is on: Amid one of the seasons that showcased the raw, untamed potential of the most promising NBA player, who is the fiercest of them all? Who will stand out and prove to be the most dominant rising star?
Here’s a little calculated speculation from the best plays of the season:
5. Ja Morant
The 20-year-old youngster playing for Memphis Grizzlies had to go through one of the most daunting tasks a rookie can be subjected to go through last weekend; going against the Los Angeles Lakers, LA Clippers as well as the Houston Rockets the previous week.
Ja Morant was not intimidated. The player shot 70 percent from the 3-point range, however, was unable to tap into the truest form of his potential as Jaren Jackson had been down with an injury. The player averages 15.0 points per game and 4.3 assists every game.
4. Jordan Poole
Golden State Warriors realized in the season that this youngster belonged in their line-up, and the 20-year-old did what was expected: deliver extraordinary performance on the court. The player was ranked 5 last season and is set to hold that position, if not improve.
It is evident that Poole, given the right conditions, can score, however, his inefficiency and erratic play pattern becomes problematic for the Warriors. Despite averaging 16 points per game, he shot an abhorrent 23.8 percent from deep on seven measly attempts. His poor accuracy is somewhat antithetical to what was expected of him coming out of college.
3. Kendrick Nunn
The list is simply lacking and misleading without the Miami Heatwave, Kendrick Nunn. In the Heat’s lone win this week, the 24-year-old single-handedly put 24 points onto the board featuring 5 shots out of 7 shot from the deep end.
But all isn’t perfect: Nun’s plays are an amalgamation of his persona as the ‘jack of all trades’ point guard and the inefficient player who vanishes from the court mid-game owing to inconsequentiality of his actions. Consistency will be the key for Nunn to help the Heat stay on in the season.
2. Zion Williamson
This New Orleans’ Pelicans rookie is already sending ripples through the league with his stellar performances this season, and is already being referred to as the ‘mini Shaquille O’Neal’ in the court, but he might just prove that he’s in a league of his own.
In all the 13 games of the season, Zion Williamson is yet to encounter a single team that can slow him down. In his first face-off against LeBron James, he finished nicking 29 points, tethering his streak of 20-point games to life. Williamson is a force of nature on the courts and has continued to dominate the game and at times, the backboard!
1. Coby White
With an average of 33.7 points per game and a formidable 58.1% accuracy for 3 pointers, Coby White is the actual lightning bolt of the Oklahoma City Thunder ensemble the league witnesses once a generation.
White’s 35-point basket sniping spree provided a fitting conclusion (or intermission) to the streak that he’s been pursuing over the past week. The 20-year old’s consistency is, beyond the hint of a doubt, unyielding. The league hasn’t produced one defender that could dampen his fire from the 3-point-range, yet the X factor of his plays is how his scores are unblemished by time; a fact that is evident in his three straight 30-point games.
In the race to the title of the ‘Rookie of the Year’, White seems to have already sprinted till the line, and is a step away.
