OKC Thunder rookies hit the mark in ROY rankings week 1

After the initial week of NBA action, a combo of OKC Thunder rookies got some well-deserved shine from the national sites. Their impact is seeping into conversations about where prospects were selected and already there is debate if Sam Presti pulled a stunner by selecting Josh Giddey.

Predicting the potential of a prospect is never set in stone. If it was there wouldn’t be as much debate over where prospects are selected. Copious factors play into these analyses because there is so much uncertainty. Every franchise has its own methods for development and each prospect can impact their path. Some will never reach the projected ceiling envisioned while others will exceed expectations.

OKC Thunder rookies impress in week one of Rookie Ratings

To that end, a week into the season there are already a few surprises. Top draft pick Cade Cunningham had yet to make his debut. Nor is the trio of Green, Mobley, and Jalen Suggs the names sitting in the top three on these lists.

Two franchises are proving their scouting departments are pretty good at their jobs including the OKC Thunder landing a combo of prospects in the top 10 of some lists.

NBA – Steve Aschburner

Long tenured writer for the NBA official site – Steve Aschburner serves up his thoughts each week on the rookies from the 2021 class. Aschburner has a wealth of knowledge and that insight permeates his writings as he dives into the semantics of how the rookies are impacting their clubs not simply pointing to scoring as the main consideration.

The OKC Thunder rookies got plenty of shine from Aschburner who ranks Josh Giddey seventh and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl 10th. They along with the combo from Houston and Orlando place two rooks on his initial week of play. The NBA scribe only offers excepts for his top five so Giddey and JRE only get the statistical inclusion in his rankings.

In the first week of play Aschburner served up the following top 10:

Legend: per game stats of points, rebounds and assists are noted as P, A, and R

1. Chris Duarte – Pacers: 19.8P, 4.8R, 2.0A
2. Scottie Barnes – Raptors: 16.8P, 8.5R, 1.5A
3.  Evan Mobley, Cavaliers: 14.3P, 8.3R, 2.8A
4. Jalen Green, Rockets: 16.0P, 3.7R, 3.0A
5. Franz Wagner, Magic: 13.3P, 4.3R, 2.0A
6. Davion Mitchell -Kings: 9.0P, 1.7R, 3.7A
7. Josh Giddey, OKC Thunder: 9.7P, 6.7R, 4.7A (A 3.6 assist/turnover ratio, and a minus-14.3 for a minus-22.0 team.)
8. Jalen Suggs,  Magic: 12.5P, 3.3R, 3.5A
9. Alperen Sengun, Rockets:  8.0P, 4.7R, 2.3A
10. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, OKC Thunder: 6.3P, 4R, (Ten points in 13 minutes in NBA debut for No. 32 pick.)

CBS – Jasmyn Wimbish:

Another cornerstone entry comes from CBS writer Jasmyn Wimbish who like Aschburner offers up a top 10 list of rookie performances.

Like her NBA counterpart Aschburner, Wimbish includes OKC Thunder rookies Giddey and Robinson-Ear in her top ten.

To view her full article on the week one placement click here.

1. Chris Duarte
2. Scottie Barnes
3. Jalen Green
4. Evan Mobley
5. Franz Wagner
6. Jalen Suggs
7. Josh Giddey
8. Davion Mitchell
9. Alperen Sengun
10. Jeremialh Robinson-Earl

On Giddey Wimbish says:

"Many believed the Thunder overreached to take Giddey with the sixth overall pick, and after his first two games in the league, it certainly wasn’t allaying any criticisms about the selection. But then Giddey turned in his best performance so far in the NBA against the Sixers.The 6-8 Aussie was taking it straight at Philadelphia’s defenders, and wasn’t afraid to get into the paint where a dominant Joel Embiid was always there waiting. His floater is already in midseason form, and his ability to go to it frequently will surely annoy opposing teams."

For JRE, she offers the following:

"Robinson-Earl is just one of many young players the Thunder will be trotting out onto the court this season, so he’ll surely get an opportunity to develop and impress OKC’s front office. He’s another big man in this draft class who can spread the floor out to the 3-point line, which will open the door for some pick-and-pop plays in the second unit."

It’s great that two OKC Thunder players are cracking the top 10. That said, Giddey should be ranking higher in the narrator’s opinion. Things could shift over the coming weeks and it will be interesting to see if the writers are basing the ranking simply on points. Ideally, the impact of that rookie on the team should factor including playmaking, wins, defense, and making your teammates better.

Hoops Habit – Corey Rausch:

Corey Rausch of Hoops Habit serves up a top-five for the first week of play. OKC Thunder rookie Giddey makes his cut at number five:

"So far for the OKC Thunder, Josh Giddey is doing a little bit of everything on the offensive of the floor well. He is currently leading all rookies in assists. He is showing quite the ability to rebound from the guard position and has shown some scoring touch. Efficiency was the worry coming into the season and the third game swayed those stats noticeably. The shooting will remain the swing skill for Giddey to remain on this list for the rest of the season but for now, the Thunder have to feel good about the player they got with the sixth pick in the draft."

Rausch’s top four are Evan Mobley, Chris Duarte, Scottie Barnes, and Jalen Green from first to fourth.

That wraps up the week one Rookie race with three sites getting in on the action. Stay tuned for week two as other sites join into the action offering their takes.