Much of the talk entering the 2024 NBA Draft was that it certainly wasn’t one of the better ones when it came to the players available. There didn’t look to be a transcendent player like Victor Wembanyama in 2023. There was no clear-cut top guy, so many proclaimed that it was the wrong year for the Atlanta Hawks to win the draft lottery. Atlanta ended up selecting 19-year-old Zaccharie Risacher with that first pick.
Now, it absolutely is far too early to be talking 2024-25 Rookie of the Year favorites. The regular season started less than two weeks ago. Still, it’s quite obvious that there hasn’t been a rookie to stand out during the very early portion of the schedule.
Could We Have The Lowest Scoring Rookie Of The Year Ever?
Lowest Scoring Rookie Of The Year Was The First One
Now known as the Wilt Chamberlain Trophy, the NBA Rookie of the Year has been named every season since 1952-53. According to Basketball Reference, newspaper writers recognized winners from 1947-48 to 1951-52, but the NBA doesn’t include them in their official records. The first recognized Rookie of the Year is Monk Meineke of the Fort Wayne Pistons in 1952-53. Since then, 74 more players have received the honors (co-winners in 1970-71, 1994-95, and 1999-00).
Each of the 75 recognized Rookie of the Year winners finished their rookie seasons averaging double figures in scoring. The lowest scoring average from a Rookie of the Year winner came somewhat recently. Malcom Brogdon, then of the Milwaukee Bucks averaged 10.2 points while being named the 2016-17 Rookie of the Year.
The next lowest scoring average from a Rookie of the Year winner actually came from the first winner, Meineke. He averaged 10.7 points with the Fort Wayne Pistons as a rookie.
No Rookies Standing Out Thus Far
Again, we are very early into the 2024-25 regular season. Things could change rather quickly. Averages can go up quite a bit after one great game. Thus far though, there is just one rookie who has a higher scoring average than Brogdon’s Rookie of the Year-low 10.2 scoring average.
The scoring leader for rookies at the moment is Carlton Carrington of the Washington Wizards. Selected with the 14th overall pick, Carrington is the only rookie now averaging double-digits in scoring at 10.5. The Wizards have played just four games though, tied for the least in the NBA with the Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers.
The next five highest scoring averages from rookies so far this season belong to Jaylen Wells of the Memphis Grizzlies (9.5), Ryan Dunn of the Phoenix Suns (9.4), Zach Edey of the Grizzlies (9.0), the previously mentioned Risacher (8.2), and Alex Sarr of the Wizards (8.0).
It would seem the player who could see his scoring average rise with more playing time would be Edey. Even though the two-time College Player of the Year has started all six games for Memphis, he is only playing 17.7 minutes per contest. Foul woes have played a role in that, especially in the season opener when Edey fouled out in less than 15 minutes of action.
So could we have the lowest scoring Rookie of the Year ever in 2024-25? Let’s revisit this in a couple months where we may start having a better idea as to whether that can occur.
