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The draft classes of 1984, 1996 and 2003 have been labelled as the best 3 ever in terms of the amount of talent that came in to the league in those specific years. For reasons one too many, it is said the current draft class of 2014 is one to be the best since the LeBron James class of ‘03.Of course the biggest factor for judjing the talent of a particular draft class is in its depth. This year’s draft was so competitive that the Cleveland Cavaliers who had the first overall pick did not decide to pick Andrew Wiggins ahead of Jabari Parker till the final day.The reason why this is an indicator of the talent pool is, generally in every draft class there is one standout youngster who is clearly the favorite to be picked first however this wasn’t the case this year. So based on their Summer League performance and pre-season action, here are the top five Rookie of the Year candidates from the best draft class in recent years:
#5 Julius Randle-Los Angeles Lakers
Picked 7th overall by the Los Angeles Lakers, Julius Randle comes to the NBA after a near championship year at Kentucky under 3 time National Coach of the Year John Calipari. He led Kentucky Wildcats to the Championship Game of the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) tournament where they lost to University of Conneticut.
In all the 40 college games, Randle started each game with averages of 15 points and 10.4 rebounds. He registered 24 double doubles for the season, second most by a Kentucky player since Dan Issel’s 25 in 1969-70 and the most by a Kentucky freshmen (the presvious record of 20 was jointly held by DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis).
Forgoing his final three years at college, Randle signed his rookie contract with Lakers and played for the franchise in the Summer League on the same day. Although his Summer League performance was not very encouraging, his time on the floor in the pre-season has proved to be much more fruitful.
For a player his size he has a great ability to finish at the basket but he is still coming to terms with fast paced and physical natured game in the NBA. With assured minutes by Head Coach, Randle would always be on the top 5 candidates but never top 3.
#4 Doug McDermott-Chicago Bulls
The Denver Nuggets selected Doug McDermott 11th overall in the 2014 Draft and be aware this guy is the dark horse candidate to win the Rookie of the Year simply because of the maturity. We saw maturity beating stats and potential when Damian Lillard (22 years old) beat Anthony Davis (19 years old) for the ROY award two years ago.
Lillar played all his four years at college and so as McDermott which gives him the slight edge over Jabari Parker and Andrew Wiggins however that slight edge is reduced to nothing bacuse of the number of minutes he will recieve with the Chicago Bulls, who he was traded to by the Nuggets.
Playing Small Forward, McDermott spent so much time playing college ball that he had scored 3,150 points, which is more the Boston Celtics legend and Hall of Famer Larry Bird. He is one of only three players in the history of the NCAA to have more than 3000 points and a 1000 rebounds.
He has put up good figures during the pre-season for the Bulls but if he needs more minutes on the floor if he is to become a legitimate threat for the ROY.
#3 Andrew Wiggins-Minnesota Timberwolves
No your eyes are not fooling you, the 2014 Draft’s number one overall pick is placed 3rd in the pre-season ranking for the ROY candidates. It has nothing to do with his game as much as it has to do with the next two players being better than him.
Playing Small Forward, he averaged 17.1 points and 6 rebounds for Kansas in his single college season. He sizzled in the Summer League and has been putting up good numbers for the Timberwolves so far in the pre-season. In four games so far he has averaged 13 points and 4 rebounds which is average given its just the pre-seaosn.
Deciding to forego his last three years at the University of Kansas, Wiggins has broken many records en route to his first NBA game. Being a Canadian national, he was only the second Canadian to be drafted first overall after Anthony Benett, the first overall pick of 2013. Part of a three team deal that send him to the Minnesota Timberwolves, Wiggins became only the second first overall pick to be traded before playing a single NBA game.
With more minutes, there are many analysts who saw him in college are confident he will turn into a bonafide franchise player for Minnesota.
#2 Jabari Parker-Milwaukee Bucks
Jabari Parker might have been drafted second overall but he was projected to have more chances than Wiggins to win ROY and his stats support the projection. Playing the same position as Wiggins, he does a little more of everything.
He was among only two players to sign with Jordan brand even before being drafted. Before deciding to attend Duke University, Parker recieved multiple natinal player of the year awards in high school like the National Player of the Year by MaxPreps.com and Morgan Wootten Male Player of the Year to name a few.
Playing under USA National Basketball Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski at Duke University, Parker is a perfect fit for the Milwaukee Bucks to mould a franchise around him in the anticipation of realizing their championship dreams some time soon. During his only year at Duke, he averaged 19.1 points and 8.7 rebounds in 35 games.
In terms of the Summer League and pre-season action he has been the best of the 2014 rookies. In 5 games of the pre-season irrespective of the team’s result, Parker has contributed hugely in every game with averages of 15 points and 6 rebounds. Watch out for him in the future, he has the talent to have best NBA future of the all rookies drafted in 2014.
#1 Nerlens-Noel-Philadelphia 76ers
Nerlens Noel not being a 2014 Draftee, you wouldn’t or rather you shouldn’t see his name in this list unfortunately rules are rules. Having not played a single game last season due to a knee injury, the 2013 Draftee Noel comes into this season as a rookie and therefore is eligibile for the ROY award.
University of Kentucky is among the top colleges to send talented youngsters to the NBA and Noel is another one of them. He succeeded Davis at the University and set multiple block records. Coming into the NBA his tru potential was not known until he played in the 2014 Summer League where he totally dominated the post.
In his last two pre-season games he has averaged 11 points, 10 rebounds and 2 block.With Thaddeaus Young shipped to Minnesota Timberwolves as part of the same three team trade that involved Wiggins, Noel is sure to get a lot minutes to justify why he is the player who most deserves the ROY honors.
Along with last season’s ROY Michael Carter Williams, Noel has brought some hope for the Philadelphia 76ers franchise.
