Nikola Jokic (Photo : Twitter)
The draft class of 2015turned out to be one of the better ones in recent years.
The top picks made an impact on their teams, specifically the big men, Karl-Anthony Towns and Kristaps Porzingis. Jahlil Okafor also emerged as the top offensive option for his team.
It was a safe bet that one of those mentioned would win the award and Karl-Anthony Towns is the clear favorite. Bleacher Report mentioned that he already has the most productive rookie season among all the rookies from Kentucky.
If you consider the roster of Kentucky rookies, that's quite a feat. Fellow first overall picks John Wall and Anthony Davis are from Kentucky along with DeMarcus Cousins, Eric Bledsoe, Brandon Knight, Nerlens Noel and even Rajon Rondo all went to Lexington. Towns had the best rookie year among that list.
"Not one of them posted a higher PER than Towns-including Davis, who owns one of the 25 highest first-year PERs in league history," Dan Favale of B/R points out. "Towns arrived in Minnesota as one of the most polished offensive products Kentucky has sent to the NBA. He's shooting a ridiculous 48-plus percent between 16 feet and the three-point line, and already we're seeing signs of an exceptional passer."
Towns is most likely the winner but an ESPN writer believes there is an overlooked candidate who also deserves the recognition, and it's not among the favorites.
ESPN NBA Insider Jeremias Engelmann actually disputed that Towns' stats are "excellent but include a bit of fluff."
He elaborates: "First, he is 16th in the league in goaltends. This is harmful because of the free points it provides opponents and also because it indicates an overeager defensive approach -- there is more to rim protection than swatting shots."
That was similar to an argument against Hassan Whiteside, the league leader in blocks, which stated that his team's defensive efficiency is the same or even better without him on the floor. Thus, the blocks lose their overall significance.
Engelmann continues on Towns: "Second, many of his defensive rebounds are off of opponent free throws -- he ranks fourth in the league in that particular category. These rebounds seldom add to the team rebounding totals, and therefore are of relatively little value."
He noted that Porzingis contributions actually give more value, but his contender for the ROY award is more interesting: second round pick Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets.
"Jokic has become one of the most effective players in the entire NBA, beating out superstars such as James Harden, Paul George and DeMarcus Cousins in per-minute impact, according to RPM."
While the stat is not the usual barometer for determining awards, Engelmann also noted that Jokic's "scoring efficiency is eye-catching, too. Jokic is shooting 53.1 percent on 2s and 36.9 percent on 3s, contributing to a true shooting percentage of 58.1, third best among rookies and well ahead of Porzingis."
His conclusion: "Simply put, when he's on the floor, he has been the best rookie, and by a large margin -- large enough for him to be my pick for rookie of the year."
It's a worthy question to ask if anyone else has took notice of this, even the Nuggets themselves. There have been some players who did not have spectacular rookie seasons but quietly built solid careers that exceeded the more coveted names of their draft class. Jokic could follow that path.
