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Sixers rookie VJ Edgecombe ranks No. 1 among rookies and No. 30 overall in the NBA in scoring (22.3 ppg).<\/p>\n
Dallas\u2019 Cooper Flagg hasn\u2019t done anything to dim his prospects of earning the Kia Rookie of the Year award by season\u2019s end.<\/p>\n
But a handful of his Class of 2025 draft mates<\/a> have started strongly enough to brighten their own chances of vying for the Wilt Chamberlain Trophy, awarded annually by the NBA to the league\u2019s top newcomer.<\/p>\n Flagg is the best known of the rookies, owing to his roots from Newport, Maine, and his journey through a season at Duke and arrival as the consensus No. 1 pick. The Dallas Mavericks\u2019 drama, sparked by trading franchise face Luka Don\u010di\u0107, angering fans and presumably putting GM Nico Harrison on the hot seat, only heightened the anticipation and attention heaped on Flagg when the lottery balls came up in the Mavs\u2019 favor.<\/p>\n But lower profiles last season don\u2019t necessarily carry over to this one for an intriguing group of fresh talent. And this week\u2019s debut Kia Rookie Ladder verifies that, with Flagg no higher than No. 4 in a nod to the opening weeks turned in by his rivals<\/a>.<\/p>\n Compared to the past two rookie crops, the NBA and Ladder watchers might have the best of both worlds now. Two years ago, Victor Wembanyama arrived as a generational talent<\/a> and wound up as the runaway Kia Rookie of the Year winner<\/a>. Last season, his Spurs teammate, Stephon Castle, emerged late<\/a> from a Class of 2024 that didn\u2019t bring a lot of sizzle with them.<\/p>\n Now we\u2019re seeing a deep crop of viable ROY contenders, who might push and inspire each other in competition to even greater accomplishments. Flagg still ranks as the likely victor, but a few more weeks of pleasant surprises on the rookie front will be all it takes to have Las Vegas oddsmakers and assorted pundits updating their picks.<\/p>\n Weekly recap<\/p>\n \u2022 Edgecombe\u2019s spirited start in Philadelphia owes much to the court time he\u2019s getting. He\u2019s a runaway leader in rookies minutes, averaging 40 in the Sixers\u2019 first four games. He has outscored his classmates in raw points, too, but not equalized to a more sustainable workload. On a 36-minutes basis, Edgecombe is averaging 19.9, which ranks third among new guys who have played more than 30 total minutes thus far. Memphis\u2019 Cedric Coward would be the rookies\u2019 scoring leader at 25.5 points per 36 minutes.<\/p>\n \u2022 Seven of the Top 10 picks in June hold rungs on this week\u2019s Ladder. That\u2019s a reversal from last season\u2019s debut Ladder, when only three of the Top 10 appeared. Those currently absent: No, 5 Ace Bailey, No. 8 Egor D\u00ebmin and No. 10 Khaman Maluach. Two more lottery picks \u2013 No. 12 Noa Essengue and No. 14 Carter Bryant \u2013 still are seeking Ladder love, too.<\/p>\n Storyline to watch<\/p>\n Ace Bailey\u2019s ascendance. We assume this will happen for the No. 5 pick out of Rutgers. Bailey is off to a slow start, bothered by tendinitis in his knees and more recently by shaky shooting (3-of-19 so far, including 1-of-12 inside the arc). Fortunately for him and the Jazz, another Utah rookie, guard Walter Clayton Jr., has played well enough to draw the spotlight off Bailey, much as Isaiah Collier and Kyle Filipowski did last season for No. 10 pick Cody Williams.<\/p>\n (All stats through Tuesday, Oct. 28)<\/p>\n 1. VJ Edgecombe, Philadelphia 76ers<\/p>\n Season stats:<\/a> 22.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 5.5 apg About the only thing that could dampen enthusiasm over Edgecombe is the timeline of the Sixers\u2019 rookie sensation from a year ago, Jared McCain. McCain was an early ROY favorite (15.3 ppg) whose season ended after just 23 games due to a torn meniscus in his left knee. His return has been delayed by the thumb ligament surgery<\/a> he underwent in September. No one wants that lightning to strike twice, least of all the Sixers now that they\u2019re flexing this electric Tyrese Maxey-Edgecombe backcourt<\/a>. The Baylor wing has all the physical tools he needs<\/a> and, apparently, the mental approach as well. \u201cI\u2019m a student of the game, so I know where my buckets are going to come from,\u201d he said this week.<\/p>\n 2. Cedric Coward, Memphis Grizzlies<\/p>\n Season stats:<\/a> 16.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.3 apg A draft sleeper typically comes from deep in the first or anywhere in the second round. A draft steal, by comparison, is someone like Coward, who already is sparking second-guesses from fans of lottery teams who let him slide out of the Top 10. The Grizzlies went the other way, trading up five spots to grab him, undeterred by the torn rotator cuff that limited the 6-foot-6 wing to just six games last season for Washington State. Coward seized minutes opened by teammates\u2019 injuries and is shooting robust percentages<\/a> (69.7% overall, 64.3% on 3-pointers)<\/p>\n 3. Dylan Harper, San Antonio Spurs<\/p>\n Season stats:<\/a> 14.8 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 4.8 apg Five-time NBA champion Ron Harper was 42 when his son Dylan was born, so we had no shot at ever seeing a LeBron\/Bronny pairing on an active roster. But the five-time champion\u2019s genes are alive and well in the Spurs rookie, who already looks savvy beyond his years<\/a>. He ranks in the Top 5 among rookies in seven stats categories. \u201cNot limiting myself to more than one thing, just trying to be all around,\u201d Harper said.<\/p>\n 4. Cooper Flagg, Dallas Mavericks<\/p>\n Season stats:<\/a> 13 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.5 apg A banged-up left shoulder<\/a> vs. OKC Monday sent Flagg to the bench, where critics could debate coach Jason Kidd\u2019s initial decision to use the rookie as a point guard in Kyrie Irving\u2019s absence. Exposing him to a new challenge and perspective? Or blocking Flagg\u2019s aggressiveness with responsibility to service his teammates\u2019 games? His production did pick up when D\u2019Angelo Russell took over at the point. His best performance so far: 22 points, four rebounds, four assists and no turnovers vs. Toronto, matching only Kobe Bryant among 18-year-olds to score 20+ and not turn the ball over. Then, there was this highlight<\/a>.<\/p>\n 5. Tre Johnson, Washington Wizards<\/p>\n Season stats:<\/a> 14.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2 apg Walking into a team with eight players who have one season or less of experience, 11 with two or less, Johnson has still found ways to stand out. He joined Kevin Durant as the only teenagers to begin their careers with three games of at least 16 points and two or more 3-pointers. His efficiency is already garnering attention<\/a>.<\/p>\n The next 5<\/p>\n 6. Kon Knueppel, Charlotte Hornets<\/p>\n Season stats:<\/a> 16 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2 apg No rookie in NBA history ever hit more 3-pointers through his first four games than the Hornets\u2019 new young forward. He made 16 of his 30 tries (53.3%) to top Sacramento\u2019s Keegan Murray and Indiana\u2019s Chris Duarte, each of whom hit 13 in their first four appearances. The season target: 206 by Murray three years ago.<\/p>\n 7. Jeremiah Fears, New Orleans Pelicans<\/p>\n Season stats:<\/a> 10.7 ppg, 2 rpg, 1.7 apg Fears\u2019 first start, against Boston on Monday, was also his roughest game: two points on 1-of-11 shooting with two assists and four turnovers in the rout by Boston. But his big buddy, Zion Williamson, said he wasn\u2019t worried about the 6-foot-4 point guard. \u201cFears is already a pro\u2019s pro,\u201d Williamson said. \u201cHe is a dog. Stuff like that don\u2019t weigh him down. He is just going to come in the next day and get back to it.\u201d Fears fared better in his debut, scoring 17 in 18 minutes<\/a>.<\/p>\n 8. Derik Queen, New Orleans Pelicans<\/p>\n Season stats:<\/a> 10 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 1 bpg Pressed into service at center by injuries to teammates Kevon Looney and Yves Missi, Queen logged 35 minutes<\/a> in the Pelicans\u2019 overtime loss to the Spurs and on multiple occasions found himself staring up at Victor Wembanyama, to whom he gives up half a foot. But it was a great sink-or-swim moment. Teammate Fears said: \u201cDerik is really, really smart. He has a unique skill set. I think his IQ is one of those things. He\u2019s able to read the floor, read the positions, and being able to be a versatile player is super helpful for us.\u201d<\/p>\n 9. Collin Murray-Boyles, Toronto Raptors<\/p>\n Season stats:<\/a> 9.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.5 spg Defense is what will get and keep Murray-Boyles in the Raptors\u2019 lineup, while he works on the \u201c3\u201d part of his 3-and-D potential. \u201cIf I\u2019m open, shoot the ball,\u201d said the 20-year-old from South Carolina, who missed the first two games with a forearm strain. \u201cWe have been working on it since I got drafted, so [I\u2019m] trying to be as confident as possible.\u201d In the meantime, he has been a disruptor<\/a>.<\/p>\n 10. Ryan Kalkbrenner, Charlotte Hornets<\/p>\n Season stats:<\/a> 9.5 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 1 bpg Just short of a double-double guy pro-rated to 36 minutes per game (12.9 points, 9.9 rebounds), the 7-footer from Creighton has stayed in his lane offensively. He has sank 19 of his 21 shots for a 90.5 shooting percentage. In the process, he has made a notable fan<\/a>.<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him\u00a0here<\/a>, find\u00a0his archive here<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0follow him on X<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Draft pick:<\/a> No. 3<\/p>\n
Draft pick:<\/a> No. 11<\/p>\n
Draft pick:<\/a> No. 2<\/p>\n
Draft pick:<\/a> No. 1<\/p>\n
Draft pick:<\/a> No. 6<\/p>\n
Draft pick:<\/a> No. 4<\/p>\n
Draft pick:<\/a> No. 7<\/p>\n
Draft pick:<\/a> No. 13<\/p>\n
Draft pick:<\/a> No. 9<\/p>\n
Draft pick:<\/a> No. 34<\/p>\n