The race for this year’s NBA Rookie Of The Year has been on fire practically all season long.
It’s obvious that this year’s newcomers are some of the best to ever enter the league.
Because of that, competition for the top prize is heated and, at times, neck-and-neck.
But now that the regular season is over, it’s time to take a good, hard look at who should come out on top.
One of the names that needs to be in serious contention for Rookie of the Year is Scottie Barnes of the Toronto Raptors.
Scottie Barnes has been named Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for March/April. He also won it in February.
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) April 11, 2022
Barnes was just named the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for both March and April.
That’s the third month in the row for Barnes, who won back in February too.
Does this make him the frontrunner for ROY?
Crowded Class
When you talk about rookies at the top of the list, the three names usually mentioned are Barnes, Cade Cunningham of the Detroit Pistons, and Evan Mobley of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
For the season, Barnes averaged 15.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists.
Meanwhile, Cunningham has put up 17.4 points, 5.6 assists, and 5.5 rebounds per game while Mobley has averaged 14.9 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 2.5 assists.
But there are other names in the mix too.
Franz Wagner of the Orlando Magic, Jalen Green of the Houston Rockets, Josh Giddey of the Oklahoma City Thunder, and Davion Mitchell of the Sacramento Kings have all had stellar opening seasons.
Any of these guys would be worthy of the top honor.
Each of these players has the potential to have long, incredible careers for years.
That means that the new generation of NBA players is going to be wowing us for years to come.
This is only the beginning for these up-and-coming superstars.
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