2024-25 NBA rookie rankings: New No. 1 after trade deadline
There has been tangible growth among first-year players as we enter the final third of the 2024-25 NBA season, with rookies settling into expanded roles and emerging as contributors for teams such as the San Antonio Spurs, Washington Wizards and Memphis Grizzlies.
This weekend’s All-Star festivities gave a number of rookies opportunities in the spotlight, particularly Spurs guard Stephon Castle, who won MVP of the Rising Stars game with a strong showing and finished second in Saturday’s dunk contest.
The league’s trade deadline is now in the rearview, with opportunities and roles shifting and more minutes opening up for young talent. We’ve seen the surprise emergence of Isaiah Collier with the Utah Jazz and the Wizards lean hard into their rookie youth movement.
Let’s revisit how members of the 2024 draft class are faring with less than two months left in the regular season. Please note that this ranking is not an attempt to gauge players’ long-term potential or trade value. It’s simply a barometer of which first-year players have made the most interesting and notable impact at this stage of the season.
Jump to a section:
Ranking the top eight rookies
Surprise standout for the Jazz
Deadline impact on Knecht, Buzelis
Next Thunder? Wizards’ rookie plan
1. Stephon Castle, G, San Antonio Spurs
Drafted: No. 4, UConn
Key stats: 12.9 points, 3.5 assists
Previous ranking: 5
Castle is playing his best basketball at a good time, reaching double figures in 14 of the past 15 games as the Spurs (23-29) push for a play-in spot in the Western Conference. The arrival of De’Aaron Fox slid Castle into a sixth man role, but he hasn’t missed a beat, scoring a season-high 33 points in 31 minutes against the Charlotte Hornets on Feb. 7. Working as the first player off the bench, Castle’s defense and athletic slashing prowess point to long-term upside as an oversized backcourt fixture.
The Spurs have high hopes for Castle, who will slot in as a long-term backcourt partner for Fox presuming he can work through his inconsistent shooting (49% on 2s and 28% from 3). He has emerged as a strong candidate for NBA Rookie of the Year, a case that will be bolstered if San Antonio can stay in contention for at least a play-in tournament spot over the next month.
While it played no role in his ranking here, Castle also showed well at All-Star Weekend in San Francisco, winning MVP of the Rising Stars event after knocking down a game-winner to ice the semifinal, then leading his team on a 17-2 run to win the championship, including the winning assist. He also finished second to Mac McClung with a respectable showing in the dunk contest.
2. Zaccharie Risacher, Atlanta Hawks
Drafted: No. 1, France
Key stats: 10.5 PPG, 3.5 RPG
Previous ranking: 6
Risacher has come on over the past few weeks, playing more assertive basketball since the new year, notably a 30-point, 11-of-14 game on the road against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Jan. 30 that included a 7-for-7 first half, becoming the first teenage player to have multiple games of 30 points and no turnovers in league history.
He is turning into a capable starter for Atlanta, likely held back to some extent by his role, but showing the poise and talent on both ends of the floor that made him an attractive No. 1 pick candidate. He is taking excellent care of the ball and making good decisions — the next step will be growing into a larger offensive role going into next season.
3. Zach Edey, C, Memphis Grizzlies
Drafted: No. 9, Purdue
Key stats: 9.5 points, 7.6 rebounds, 62.3% 2FG
Previous ranking: 4
Edey has dealt with some predictable ups and downs as he adapts to a more expansive NBA role, but the productive nights have been there in spurts, including a stretch of three straight double-doubles in wins to start February.
He has had to get away somewhat from the designed post-ups he lived off at Purdue and learn to find opportunities to score in the faster-paced, more open pro game. His minutes (20.6 per game average) have been a touch inconsistent as a result. But on certain nights he has had a huge impact, and his utility as a screener and advantage creator — forcing opposing teams to counter his size — has gotten his career off to a good start.
4. Jaylen Wells, SG/SF, Memphis Grizzlies
Drafted: No. 39, Washington State
Key stats: 11.2 points, 37% 3FG
Previous ranking: 2
Wells remains one of the best stories of the season and should be firmly in the picture for NBA Rookie of the Year at this point, joining teammate Edey as the only members of this class to have held down a starting spot for a top playoff contender all season.
His pathway from Division II player to NBA starter in the span of two years has been improbable. While he has hit a minor slump in February, Wells has provided consistent 3-point shooting and capably guarded the opposing team’s top offensive player nightly, carving out value in an area that wasn’t viewed as a strength coming out of college.
5. Kel’el Ware, C, Miami Heat
Drafted: No. 15, Indiana
Key stats: 9.1 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 61% 2FG
Previously ranked: Not ranked
Miami’s selection of Ware last June was perhaps portentous of where the team was heading. The Heat, seemingly in a competitive window, passed on more established prospects to invest in Ware, a largely untapped talent often noted by scouts for his inconsistency. It was a clear upside swing, and with Jimmy Butler out of the picture, Miami is committed to developing its younger talent for the present and future.
Ware’s fluid athleticism, length and potential to space the floor have always made him an intriguing modern center, and he has done his part to answer some of the long-standing questions about his competitiveness and motor. He landed in an excellent spot to develop, entering the rotation in late December and becoming a full-time starter on Jan. 21, winning East Rookie of the Month in January.
Ware wasn’t featured in the last iteration of this column, but he has more than played his way onto the list, averaging 11.5 points and 9.8 rebounds in his 12 starts, including five double-doubles.
6. Alexandre Sarr, PF/C, Washington Wizards
Drafted: No. 2, France
Key stats: 11.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.6 blocks
Previous ranking: No. 1
Sarr went out on Jan. 27 with an ankle sprain and returned to the lineup just before the All-Star break. Prior to the injury, he was in the middle of a productive two-month stretch, showing improvement as a rebounder and starting to put his impressive physical gifts to use.
While his individual scoring still needs work (just 45% on 2-point attempts is a concern), he has shown substantial on-court growth over the course of the season, and his excellent defensive mobility coupled with improving offensive comfort bodes well for the Wizards’ future.
7. Matas Buzelis, F, Chicago Bulls
Drafted: No. 11, G League
Key stats: 14.1 points, 59% FG (last eight games)
Previously ranked: Not ranked
Buzelis has been a bright spot for the Bulls of late, scoring in double figures in eight straight games going into the All-Star break and reminding people why he was viewed as a top prospect in the class.
While still sharpening his habits, particularly on the defensive end, Buzelis has supplied energy and athletic ability to Chicago’s frontcourt, looking like a player the Bulls can build around long term. He earned a last-second nod to the Rising Stars game and headlined the dunk contest alongside Castle but was unable to advance out of the first round.
8. Yves Missi, C, New Orleans Pelicans
Drafted: No. 21, Baylor
Key stats: 8.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.5 blocks
Previous ranking: 3
Missi continues to produce as New Orleans’ full-time starter, albeit during a protracted stretch of losing. His offense is a work in progress (and largely dependent on delivery from teammates), but he is shooting a strong 61% on 2-point attempts, slotting in as the type of rim-running center the Pelicans have needed as part of the long-term rotation.
Missi also earned a nod in the Rising Stars game but injured his knee in Thursday’s win against the Kings and sat out the All-Star Weekend.
Dropped out of the rankings
Tristan da Silva, SF/PF, Orlando Magic (previously No. 7)
Ryan Dunn, SF, Phoenix Suns (previously No. 8)
Collier impressing the most of Jazz’s three rookies
It has been an unusual 18-month arc for Collier, who entered USC viewed as a No. 1 pick candidate but saw his stock crater during an underwhelming freshman season.
On draft night, he fell to Utah at No. 29. At that point in the draft, the reduced financial investment made taking on risk much more palatable for Utah, which had drafted Cody Williams at No. 10 and would take Kyle Filipowski three spots after Collier.
Fast-forward to February and it is Collier who has been the best of Utah’s three rookies. Collier replaced sophomore Keyonte George in the starting lineup in late January and gave the Jazz’s offense a different element with his playmaking and speed. He started 12 straight games entering the All-Star break, averaging 12.1 points and nine assists in that span on 50.8% shooting, but also had 3.6 turnovers in that stretch.
Sources said the Jazz, understandably, are excited about his growth internally as the team works through a long rebuild. Collier is shooting 25% from 3-point range and can still be an adventure to watch.
While Collier fell short of this month’s ranking, his on-court growth is a nice development for the Jazz, who are patiently building toward this upcoming draft. Collier is more of a pure point guard than George (who might be best in a sixth man role for the long term) and his ball-screen playmaking and ability to get downhill give him long-term potential.
The jumper is going to have to come around, but Collier looks like an excellent reclamation project for Utah, and he landed in a great situation for his development.
Trade deadline domino effect on Knecht, other rookies’ minutes
Even in a league as transaction-happy as the NBA, it’s not particularly common to see first-rounders traded in the middle of their first pro season.
This year, one rookie was dealt at the deadline: the Milwaukee Bucks sent AJ Johnson — the intriguing teenage guard I wrote about last month — to the Wizards in a deal that swapped Khris Middleton for Kyle Kuzma.
Then there was the rescinded trade involving rookie Dalton Knecht, who was briefly sent from the Los Angeles Lakers to the Charlotte Hornets before the teams’ agreed-upon deal for center Mark Williams fell apart. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Williams failed the Lakers’ physical because of multiple areas of concern. That sent Knecht back to Los Angeles, where it remains to be seen what type of role he’ll have down the stretch, with Max Christie off to the Dallas Mavericks in the Luka Doncic deal. The Lakers will want to surround Doncic and LeBron James with shooting but also have to strike the right balance defensively, where Knecht’s 116.0 defensive rating ranks on the lower end of the league.
The other deadline domino effect: When players move around the league, minutes open up. The aforementioned Buzelis is one candidate for a spike in playing time with Zach LaVine now with the Sacramento Kings, recently moving into the starting lineup and becoming a developmental prerogative for Chicago moving forward. The Bulls made a point of not handing Buzelis minutes early on — he worked his way into a role — and he presently looks like the most promising recent Chicago draftee, averaging 12.8 points in 24 minutes with a block per game in his last 10 games entering the All-Star break. The Bulls have been operating in limbo, but moving LaVine and clearing the way for more Buzelis at least offers a bit of clarity.
As previously mentioned, the addition of Fox via trade slid Castle into a bench role for the Spurs, with Chris Paul remaining in the starting five. But thinking big picture, that the team was able to land Fox without having to include Castle — setting up a potential long-term starting backcourt to pair with Victor Wembanyama — was viewed around the league as a coup for San Antonio.
play1:31How are Knecht, Lakers dealing with rescinded trade?
ESPN’s Dave McMenamin breaks down how Dalton Knecht and the Lakers are dealing with an awkward situation.
Youth-driven Wizards putting their spin on Thunder, Rockets template
The Wizards continue to play the long game as evidenced by their multiple trade deadline deals. Along with trading away Kuzma and bringing back the large salaries of Middleton and Marcus Smart for prospects and draft capital, they’re continuing to reset their roster around young talent. Those deals left the Wizards, who are 9-45 coming out of the All-Star break and in position for another prime draft pick, starting three first-round rookies last week — at least for the time being.
Washington’s first-round pick trio of Sarr, Carrington and George is averaging over 25 minutes per game each, making the Wizards the first team since the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2021-22 to play three rookies that often — the three have totaled 3,885 minutes together.
The Wizards’ trio started together for the sixth time on Feb. 12 against the Indiana Pacers, with new addition AJ Johnson coming off the bench, making them the only team in the NBA to play four first-rounders from last year’s draft in the same game. Johnson had mainly played in the G League prior to his trade from the Bucks but should get more playing time in Washington. Carrington and George were each playing some of their best basketball of the season going into the break.
It figures Smart and Middleton will be ticketed for minutes upon their return from injuries that have limited their seasons. While they’re unlikely to be part of the long-term plan, the Wizards stand to gain by helping both players rehabilitate their trade value. Washington’s full commitment to stripping down the roster and extracting value out of every transaction is straight out of the Oklahoma City playbook, something rival teams anticipated from the outset given the significant time spent by Wizards president Michael Winger (2010-17) and general manager Will Dawkins (2008-23) working in the Thunder organization.
“In general their plan is pretty foolproof as long as they stay patient with it. Everyone wants to compare it to the OKC model — I think you could use Houston as a better example,” one Western Conference executive told ESPN. “Take tons of swings, and if you’re decent at drafting, you’re going to find some good players.”
Along with flashes of promise from their rookies, the Wizards have the best odds for the No. 1 pick. According to ESPN’s BPI forecast, they have the highest percentage (14%) of landing the top spot — and drafting projected No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg.
“They have long-term vision and buy-in at the highest level, which is commendable,” the same Western Conference executive said. “My guess is they don’t have their main guy yet. But say they get Flagg, all of a sudden, competing for the playoffs in a couple years wouldn’t be a surprise. It would surprise me if they don’t eventually turn into a pretty good team.”
Source: espn.com