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Who will be first in class?The start of every new NBA season brings with it all kinds of thrills – the anticipation of seeing your favourite stars in action, the satisfaction of seeing your team best your bestie’s and of course, the novelty of the exciting fresh faces. This season is no different, as the rookies have a lot of hope-harbouring eyes trained on them. Will we see any of them set out on the path to carving out a lasting legacy in the vein of superstars like LeBron, Durant and Duncan? One can only hope. Here is our list of the top 5 to look our for in the upcoming season, with pre-season averages courtesy of CBS Sports
#1 Jahlil Okafor
Born: December 15, 1995 (age 19), Chicago, Illinois
Height: 6”11’
Weight: 122 Kgs
Position: Center
From being a 6"5' seventh grader who was ridiculed because his classmates thought he had failed the grade multiple times to becoming the McDonalds, Sports Illustrated and Parade high school national basketball player of the year, the 76ers rookie has had a phenomenal rise.
Okafor was part of the gold medal-winning US team in the U-16, U-17 and U-19 FIBA World Championships. The Chicagoan of Nigerian descent entered collegiate basketball powerhouse Duke as the preseason Collegiate National Player of the Year. On 25th June, 2015, Okafor was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers as third overall pick.
The rookie center has averaged 10 points and 3.5 rebounds in 18 minutes per game in the preseason and has worked well in tandem with fellow Philly big man Nerlens Noel.
#2 D\'Angelo Russell
Born: February 23,1996 (Age 19), Louisville, Kentucky
Height: 6"5'
Weight: 88 Kg
Position: Guard
We concede that this high a spot for the former Ohio State Buckeye may be a little contentious, given the company he's in. But the second overall pick in the 2015 Draft brings a trait that's not normally associated with rookies - court vision.
Given, he had 11 assists against just Maccabi Tel Aviv, but that'll probably increase once the Lakers' roster is more defined. With impressive ball handling skills to boot, Russell looks like an invaluable long-term investment for any team.
#3 Emmanuel Mudiay
Born: March 5,1996 (Age 19), Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo
Height: 6”5’
Weight: 91 Kg
Position: Point Guard
Growing up in war-torn Congo, Mudiay, as others in the region, grew up under constant threat of hostility. In 2001, he and his family escaped to the USA after being granted asylum. In 2014, Mudiay made the surprising choice to play basketball in China over attending college in the USA.
Despite playing just a dozen games for the Guangdong Southern Tigers, Mudiay averaged 18.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.6 steals per game. Returning from an injury-shortened season in China, Mudiay was the seventh overall pick in the 2015 Draft by the Denver Nuggets.
15.0 points and 5.4 assists in 29.2 minutes in the preseason may not seem impressive, but Mudiay has shown that he can handle the pressure of being a starting point guard, despite his NBA inexperience. He really stepped up to the plate against Russell Westbrook, putting up 22 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.
#4 Karl-Anthony Towns
Born: November 15th, 1995 (Age 19), Piscataway, New Jersey
Height: 7 ft
Weight: 111 Kg
Position: Center
The #1 overall pick in the 2015 Draft was, at age, part of the Dominican Republic national team that finished 4th in the 2011 FIBA Americas Championship and the 2012 FIBA World Qualifying Tournament. He was eligible to do so because his mother is Dominican.
With All-Star Kevin Garnett mentoring him, Towns has averaged 10.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and a block in only 21.6 minutes per game in the preseason. His team and T-Wolves fans will hope to see his impressive offensive and defensive skills grow in the regular season.
#5 Mario Hezonja
Born: 25th February 1995 (Age 20), Dubrovnik, Croatia
Height: 6”8’
Weight: 99 Kg
Position: Small Forward/Shooting Guard
The Croation national is arguably the most exciting rookie coming into the league. Many were surprised when he didn’t declare himself eligible for the 2014 Draft. The 5th overall pick is an U-16 European Championships gold medallist and an U-17 World Championship bronze medallist.
After an up-and-down season with Spanish club Barcelona, Hezonja was snapped up by the Orlando Magic on June 25th 2015. The rookie has certainly showed, well, hubris, as evident by this bounce pass alley:
Guess the Lakers players!
