Rookies 2018-19 Regular Season: Points per Game Leaders

Outlined with future stars like Ben Simmons, Donovan Mitchell, Dennis Smith Jr, Kyle Kuzma, Jason Tatum, last year's draft class was considered the best ever in a very long time. Unfortunately, many of the above mentioned haven't been able to carry over their heroics into the sophomore year, resulting in space for another batch of fresh young talent to prosper.

The 2018 draft class has not disappointed, to say the least. Although there have been talents which didn't meet the exact expectations of the offseason, a few have ended up exceeding all limits. Having been put under the brightest spotlight at such an early age is not everyone's cup of tea, but the NBA teenagers don't cease to amaze us with every passing year.

To provide a mild perspective before diving into the standings on the how the rookie landscape has turned out, Trae Young, Jaren Jackson Jr., Luka Doncic, Marvin Bagley III and DeAndre Ayton(fifth to first) were the top five picks of the latest NBA draft.

Now that we're done with more than half the season, let's take a look at where the youngsters stand amongst themselves, in terms of points scored per game this year so far.

#5 Jaren Jackson Jr.(Memphis Grizzlies) - 13.4 ppg

Jaren Jackson Jr. is currently out with a quad injury and is on day-to-day.

At just 18 years old when drafted fourth overall by the Grizzlies, Jackson's 3-and-D style is what makes him a fit for modern-day NBA basketball. His lone season at Michigan - in which he was named Big Ten's defensive player of the year - was strong enough for him to be drafted top 5 in the NBA.

He averaged almost 15 ppg (along with an emphatic 2.4 blocks per game) in the month of November, but has since cooled off a bit on the offensive end.

Across the 52 games he has played for Memphis this season, he has started in 50 of them, and is averaging an impressive 13.4 ppg in just around 26 minutes of playtime.

Although the Grizzlies are the second worst team in their Conference right now, JJ's abilities to space the floor with his shooting, as well as his headstrong rim-protection, has not gone unnoticed in the league ever since the season kicked off.

#4 Collin Sexton(Cleveland Cavaliers) - 14.3 ppg

Collin Sexton was Cleveland's prize in the Kyrie Irving trade.

LeBron James' departure has really taken a devastating(but expected) toll on the ailing Cavaliers. However, Collin 'The Bull' Sexton has been one of the rays of hope for the city recently, as the team finds itself grazing the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings ever since the start of the season.

Despite riding with a stacked team, Sexton put up imposing numbers on his FIBA U17 World Championship campaign.

He has been averaging 14.3 points per game in the season so far, having played in 52 games for the Defending East Champs. Lately, Sexton has owned the point guard position in Cleveland, averaging as high as 16.1 points per game, back in the month of November.

The rookie shoots in upwards of 40% from the field and possesses the ability to score immediately, along with showing up with high-impact activity on the defensive end.

#3 DeAndre Ayton (Phoenix Suns) - 16.4 ppg

DeAndre Ayton was the number 1 pick from the 2018 NBA draft.

Ayton averaged a double-double of 20.1 points and 11.6 rebounds a game in his lone season at Arizona, before leading the draft class last year.

He is a legit 7-footer with an athleticism representing older times when big men used to rule the NBA landscape. Despite Ayton-Booker not meeting the expectations of modern-day Shaq-Kobe, DeAndre's individual accomplishments across the season so far are worth applauding.

He is averaging a double-double as well in his rookie season, currently putting up 16.4 points and 10.6 rebounds in 47 games played so far. Expectedly so, he leads his draft classmates in the rebounds category by a fair margin(the second best in Luka Doncic being more than 150 rebounds behind) and is 12th in a league full of beasts on the boards.

He is playing more than 30 minutes every game in his debut season and shooting almost 60% from the field in a guard-dominated version of the game.

#2 Trae Young(Atlanta Hawks) - 16.5 ppg

Trae Young leads his fellow rookies in the assists category.

Although his well-renowned three-point shooting has failed to create an impression, Trae Young's heap of assists is the 7th most in the league this season, as he has been dishing out dimes at a rate of 7.4 per game.

Shooting an unlikely 30% from downtown, Trae has taken up the role of a facilitator at times, not letting his shooting woes affect his team's productivity. Used to being a solo show-runner, his transition into the league where he has had to accommodate others, has been pretty interesting to follow up till this point.

The notion of him being the next Stephen Curry has worn down, all thanks to his sub-par shooting numbers. However, he still manages to get buckets at a high rate for his Hawks, and is averaging 16.5 points across the 51 games he has started for Atlanta.

#1 Luka Doncic(Dallas Mavericks) - 20.4 ppg

Luka Doncic is, by far, the leading contender for 'Rookie of the Year' award this season.

Unlike many European imports, Luka Doncic showed that he was game-ready since his first game in the NBA, and has only given us more highlights to drool over from that point on.

Already tested and proven by the Euroleague before being drafted, Luka has outclassed all his fellow rookies with every passing game in the league. His clutch three-pointers and mature ball-handling make up for his agility on a nightly basis.

The Slovenian is averaging 20.4 points a game in his debut season, and became the first teenager ever to score a triple-double(in a losing effort against the Raptors) last month.

He is also recording the second-best rookie rebounding numbers behind Ayton, but is outscoring the second best rookie scorer (Trae Young) by more than 150 points at this point in time. In more ways than none, Doncic has almost the sealed the race for the ROY this year by a huge margin, earlier than anyone expected.