Via Si.com

With the NBA regular season over with and the playoffs in full swing, we can start to look at how players played as a whole for the season. With many of the top rookies going to bad teams, many of them are already home for the offseason. While some years give us one or two standout rookies, this rookie class was a very strong one, and it was incredibly hard to narrow this down to just a top five rookies, even if three of them are a given. With that being said, let’s take a look at the top rookies from the 2023-2024 NBA season.

Honorable Mention:

Jaime Jaquez Jr., Forward, Miami Heat

Jaquez easily could have made the top five, but he finishes just outside of it for me. He had a very strong season playing numerous roles for the Miami Heat. He had a very strong 12 game stretch where he started for Jimmy Butler in the middle of the season and helped the Heat to an 8-4 record during that time. His three-point shooting and defensive issues with quicker guards dropped him just a bit for me. I also don’t think he has the upside of some other guys on this list. I’m not sure he will ever be an all-star, but he will be an important piece on a contending team.

Cason Wallace, Guard, Oklahoma City Thunder Much like Jaquez, Wallace could have easily made the top five and probably would have many years. His stats don’t pop off the page, but he was a very good and important player for the Thunder this season. He did so many of the small things for the Thunder this season that don’t show up on the stat sheet. Add to that his ability to hit threes where he shot 42% from, and he shot 51% on uncontested threes. Defensively, Wallace was a menace all over the court. He was a good on ball defender, good at getting in passing lanes and getting deflections and steals and didn’t turn the ball over much. Wallace has a bright future ahead and can be an all-star talent player. 

5- Keyonte George, Guard, Utah Jazz

George, maybe more than any other highly picked rookie, was thrown into a role that he didn’t really play in college and as the season went along he began to thrive more and more in the role. George wasn’t much of a facilitator in college, but was thrust into that role for the Jazz. However, his ability to score off the dribble and at times get hot from behind the three point line have translated. George still has to get better with consistency from behind the three point line, he only shot 33% on the season, and he needs to get better facilitating, but he is only 20 years old, and he got better as the season went on. As the Jazz get better talent around him, he shows all-star level ability.

4- Dereck Lively III, Forward/Center, Dallas Mavericks

In most years, Lively would be a top three and potentially a top two rookie. Lively fit exactly what the Mavericks needed this year, and the Mavericks let Lively do exactly the things he is great at. Lively isn’t going to stretch the floor and his free throw shooting is really bad, but I can’t find many other, if any, flaws to his game. He runs the floor as well as any other big man in the league, he rebounds and defends at an extremely high level, and his off ball IQ is extremely high. He shot at such a high percentage around the rim that teams started having to collapse on him, allowing others to get open shots. Finishers have to pay attention to where Lively is on the floor at all times, and that kind of defensive ability is something that not many bigs in the NBA have nowadays. Lively should see at least a couple of all-star games in his future.

3- Brandon Miller, Wing, Charlotte Hornets

There were plenty of people who thought the Hornets made a mistake taking Miller at the number two pick instead of Scoot Henderson. However, I think the Hornets are laughing at all of those people at this moment. Many questioned whether Miller’s shooting and play making ability would translate to the NBA, and it has with no real issues. Miller showed his top-tier ability in pick and rolls over the year, so much so that he saw an extra help defender on pick and rolls on nearly 60% of them in February and March. Miller didn’t get to play with their other number two pick in Lamelo Ball much this year, but when he did, they played extremely well. Miller shot 37% from three and was an above average to good defender on the season. Miller does need to work on his ability as a facilitator, but that will come with reps and him getting stronger. Miller will play in multiple all-star games in his future and has shown the talent to be an All-NBA player down the road.

2- Chet Holmgren, Forward/Center, Oklahoma City Thunder

This one almost feels like cheating to me. I know he “technically” is a rookie, but he also had a year around his team and a pro weight room and coaching while he healed his foot injury. That being said, Holmgren was so good that it would have been a crime for him to not be mentioned, and in almost any other year would have been number one on this list. Since 2000, only four players, Victor Wembanyama, Karl Anthony-Towns, Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, have had higher PER than Holmgren. Holmgrens ability to stretch the floor, shooting 37% from three and 42% on unguarded attempts. On top of that, Holmgren cleaned up the glass at an elite level. On the defensive side of the ball, Holmgren was an elite paint defender who has the ability to step out and guard on the perimeter as well. Holmgren was tied for fourth in the NBA with 2.3 blocks per game. While Holmgren has already shown elite talent, I still think he has a lot of room to grow. Holmgren will be an all-star mainstay and will make multiple All-NBA teams.

1- Victor Wembanyama, Center, San Antonio Spurs

This should come as no surprise to anyone. Wembanyama was easily the best rookie this season and had one of the best rookie seasons that we have ever seen. Wembanyama had the ninth highest PER for a rookie in NBA history, the third highest since 1963 and the highest since David Robinson in the 1989-1990 season. The Spurs were a very bad team this year and that is no fault of his. He averaged 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, four assists and 3.6 blocks per game. He led the league in blocks by over a block per game. Wembanyama changed the way players attacked the basket when he played. He would affect players without even being near them. On offense, the Spurs started to allow Wembanyama to be the ball handler more as the season went on, and he excelled at it. Players with his size and defensive ability aren’t supposed to be able to pass and facilitate the ball to his teammates the way he does. Add to that, his ability to spot up and hit threes at a respectable rate, 32.5% and it should get better. He shot 38% on off the dribble threes. For a guy his size with his other skills, that is ridiculous. As the season went on, Wembanyama seemed to adapt to what teams were trying to throw at him, too. Not only is he ridiculously talented, he has a very high basketball IQ as well. Not only will Wembanyama be an all-star mainstay, he will be an All-NBA mainstay and in the MVP conversation year in and year out. He has a true Hall of Fame and top 10 player of all time potential.