{"id":873058,"date":"2026-08-29T20:42:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-29T20:42:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/873058\/"},"modified":"2026-08-29T20:42:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T20:42:11","slug":"keaton-waglers-chances-at-taking-home-coveted-award-should-be-higher-than-they-are","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/873058\/","title":{"rendered":"Keaton Wagler\u2019s chances at taking home coveted award should be higher than they are"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5s\">Just like every other award, fans of the basketball community all over the world are as eager as can be to see who will take home the league\u2019s Rookie of the Year. Many prominent figures who are, or will be, superstars, such as Cooper Flagg, Victor Wembanyama, and Cade Cunningham, to name a few, have won it over the years. In the coming season, some of the favorites are AJ Dybantsa, Cameron Boozer, and Caleb Wilson. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5x\">Regarding the LA Clippers, their fifth overall pick, Keaton Wagler, is nowhere near the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/betting\/2026-27-nba-rookie-of-the-year-odds-darryn-peterson-cameron-boozer-favored-after-summer-league\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"> top of the list<\/a>, despite being selected relatively high in the lottery. That\u2019s absurd, as when factoring in how well he performed in the summer league, as well as the extremely beneficial situation he is in, Wagler\u2019s chances should be a lot higher than they are. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"62\">That\u2019s okay, though. Soon, when the 2026-27 regular season is wrapped up, Clipper Nation will hold on to the receipts and won\u2019t be able to do anything but laugh at the low expectations on Wagler\u2019s shoulders. <\/p>\n<p>Keaton Wagler has a realistic shot at taking home the Rookie of the Year<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-4\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6c\">Although Keaton Wagler is in a class that is regarded as generational, claiming he can take home the Rookie of the Year award is by no means a stretch. Will it be easy? Absolutely not. Players like AJ Dybantsa and Caleb Wilson are <a href=\"https:\/\/clipperholics.com\/clippers-fans-praying-generational-prospect-slips-expected-top-four\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">going to dominate<\/a> in their respective situations from start to finish. However, Wagler has it made for him to walk away with the coveted award. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-5\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6h\">First and foremost, Wagler\u2019s<a href=\"https:\/\/clipperholics.com\/clippers-fans-thrilled-keaton-wagler-ranks-above-kingston-flemings-5-pick\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> skill set is close to flawless<\/a>. He can score from all three levels efficiently, make plays for his teammates to the highest degree, and hold his ground defensively, whether that\u2019s crashing the glass or locking down the player he\u2019s guarding. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6m\">Now, look at what\u2019s around him: a championship head coach in Tyronn Lue, a star point guard to learn from in Darius Garland, multiple big men that complement his playstyle, and an organization that\u2019s going to prioritize his development. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6r\">These two key factors, along with the veteran mindset he <a href=\"https:\/\/clipperholics.com\/keaton-wagler-couldnt-responded-better-after-atrocious-summer-league-debut\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">displayed in the summer league<\/a>, make it evident that in the grand scheme of things, Wagler can be the one to have his name announced on the big stage and make the doubters look silly. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6w\">All he has to do is remain consistent, grow from each mistake he encounters, and be himself. <\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.minutemediacdn.com\/platform\/google_discover_icon.svg\" class=\"shrink-0\"\/>Add us as a preferred source on Google<a aria-label=\"Follow clipperholics.com on Google News\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=clipperholics.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" preventdefault:click=\"\" class=\"flex h-[30px] w-[30px] shrink-0 items-center justify-center rounded-full bg-primary font-group-large text-sm font-medium text-white transition-colors hover:bg-secondary focus:bg-secondary md:w-auto md:gap-2.5 md:px-4 md:py-[5px]\" on:pointerenter=\"q-BoGJWvpc.js#s_1NOcOpHWmT0\" on:touchstart=\"q-H9q8BpPo.js#s_R8AiGTDeM28\" on:focus=\"q-BYEsQQaF.js#s_gxiTM6qMMu8\" on:click=\"q-CNwNFlTm.js#s_lDqay9E5m5g[0]\" q:id=\"72\">Follow<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Just like every other award, fans of the basketball community all over the world are as eager as&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":873059,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,590,85],"class_list":["post-873058","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/873058","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=873058"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/873058\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/873059"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=873058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=873058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=873058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}