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NBA Announces 2023-24 All-Rookie Team Selections

Cason Wallace, NBA All-Rookie Selection

With the 2023-24 regular season in the books, the NBA has announced its All-Rookie teams.

The complete voting results for the All-Rookie teams can be found here.

NBA Announces 2023-24 All-Rookie Team Selections

First Team

Three of the players who earned First Team honors —Victor Wembanyama, Chet Holmgren, and Brandon Miller —were locks, as three were finalists for Rookie of the Year.

Wembanyama, a 7-foot-4 forward-center, has took the league by storm as a nightly quintuple-double threat. He came away with the Rookie of the Year award in a landslide after averaging 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 3.6 blocks, and 1.2 steals per game.

That said, Holmgren and Miller were impressive throughout their rookie campaign, showing themselves to be worthy of being top-3 picks. Notably, Holmgren was selected in the 2022 NBA Draft, but missed the entire 2022-23 season as he recovered from a Lisfranc injury. The unicorn averaged 16.5 points and 2.3 blocks per game while shooting 37.0 percent from 3.

Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Brandin Podziemski being named to the All-Rookie First Team is more surprising.

In the case of Jaquez, who was taken 18th overall, the now 23-year-old was drafted after four seasons at UCLA. Traditionally, teams are less keen on four-year prospects, valuing age and unrealized potential. However, Jaquez helped prove that NBA readiness is just as valuable a skill, averaging 11.9 points per game on 48.9 percent shooting from the field.

Podziemski was picked just one spot after Jaquez out of unheralded Santa Clara. An on and off again starter for the Golden State Warriors, Podziemski was a Swiss Army Knife for the perennial championship contender. The versatile guard averaged 9.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 0.8 steals per game while shooting 38.5 percent from 3.

Second Team

Among the Second Team selections, Dereck Lively II, Keyonte George, and GG Jackson II were the most obvious choices but they all had far different journeys in their rookie season.

Drafted 12th overall, Lively became a full-time starter after his second game. However, injuries and a midseason trade for the more experienced Daniel Gafford led him back to the Dallas Mavericks’ bench. Lively averaged 8.8 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game.

George, drafted 16th overall, started the season coming off the bench but was promoted to the first unit in November. With a starting role seeming like too much for him to handle, he was relegated to the bench after 16 games. He wouldn’t regain his starting spot until February, improving his shot-selection and on-ball defense thereafter. While inefficient (.533 true shooting percentage), George averaged 13.0 points and 4.4 assist per game.

GG Jackson’s opportunity came only after injuries turned the Memphis Grizzlies rotation into a skeleton crew. Drafted 45th overall, Jackson is the youngest player in the NBA, only having turned 19 on Dec. 17. That said, despite his youth and draft position, few doubted his potential. However, few expected him to average 17.6 points per game after the All-Star Break.

Amen Thompson and Cason Wallace also flew under the radar for most of the season.

In Thompson’s case, his draft position (4th overall) and physical profile generated a lot of intrigue. However, an early season injury prevented him from establishing himself as part of the rotation until late December. Playing behind an MVP finalist in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put Wallace in a shadow that wouldn’t been hard for anyone to escape from. Nonetheless, his steady play was hard to ignore.

Scoot Snubbed

With No. 3 pick Scoot Henderson averaging 14.0 points and 5.4 assists per game, the G League Ignite product was snubbed.

He averaged more points and assists than Wallace, Thompson, Podziemski, and George. He had a more integral role than Wallace and Thompson as well. Though his inconsistency was frustrating, he should have at least been a Second Team selection.

Quenton S Albertie

Quenton S Albertie

Quenton Albertie, a native of Ft. Hood, TX, is a credentialed media member with work featured on SLAM Magazine, Sports Illustrated, USA TODAY and other major publications. Currently residing in Atlanta, GA, Albertie’s favorite teams are the Cleveland Cavaliers and Denver Broncos.

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