National Basketball Association

NBA: Handicapping The 2016-17 Rookie Of The Year Race

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 9:41 p.m. ET

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Oct 8, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) dunks the ball against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first half at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

As the 2016-17 NBA season draws closer, we explore and handicap the Rookie of the Year race, which will come down to two players

Philadelphia Sixers forward Ben Simmons was the heavy favorite amongst many people to win Rookie of the Year — until he fractured his right foot. Since the team announced his injury and ESPN reported Simmons could be out until December or January to rehab from surgery, it’s become evident he most likely won’t win the award.

With that said, there are only a couple of legitimate candidates to win the award: Buddy Hield of the New Orleans Pelicans, and Simmons’ teammate, Joel Embiid.

The reason being for the aforementioned two is because they’ll be given a bevy of minutes on teams that aren’t playoff bound and are just looking for some production to know they made the right pick this past summer.

Oct 4, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard Buddy Hield (24) shoots over Indiana Pacers forward C.J. Miles (0) during the second half of a game at the Smoothie King Center. The Pacers defeated the Pelicans 113-96. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Buddy Hield

The Pelicans have zero offensive threats besides perineal All-Star Anthony Davis to start the season. With Tyreke Evans (knee) and Jrue Holiday (personal) expected to miss an extended period of time, the Pels already lose a combined 32 points per game right off the bat there.

Then, with Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon heading to Houston a combined 32.2 points per game average is lost for the Pels.

The opportunity to get buckets is right there for the taking with Buddy Hield. It looks like head coach Alvin Gentry will go the old-school route with him by slowly acclimating him to the team and starting him when the time comes up.

In just two preseason games, Hield is averaging 18.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2 steals on 57.7 percent shoting from the field and 45.5 percent from beyond the arc. Yes, it’s just preseason, but the thing with Hield is that we all know what he’s capable of, and on a team that lacks shot-creators, shooters and playmakers, he becomes the ideal choice for them.

Oct 6, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) in a game against the Washington Wizards at Wells Fargo Center. The Washington Wizards 125-119. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Joel Embiid

Mr. Trust The Process, aka Joel Embiid is going to have a huge opportunity to show everyone the wait was worth it. This will be his first NBA season after two whole seasons after patiently waiting for his debut like buyers at a Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts during the weekdays for their coffee and breakfast meal.

Embiid has been preaching trust the process for awhile now, and this season it’s expected of him to show why the process should be trusted. After missing a total of 164 games, he’s had time to greatly develop his body into something unique. Just looking at home it looks like he’ll be a brute down low.

The athleticism of Embiid has been established along with his defensive prowess. What’s next for him showcase is an offensive repertoire. Videos have emerged of him taking three-pointers, mid-range shows and looking natural in the post. Now it’s time for to show everything he’s been working and possibly bring Rookie of the Year back to Philly for the first time since Michael Carter-Williams in 2014.

Expect Embiid to receive a great opportunity to score and play, on a team that’s looking for some hope. With Simmons out, Embiid should get more touches on offense. Not only does that help, but besides his frontcourt mate in Jahlil Okafor, the team doesn’t have any other source of go-to offense.

The only issue right now in Philly besides the injury of Simmons is the logjam of bigs, which also includes Nerlens Noel. It’s not hard to got two and two together and say Noel is likely the odd man out. He’s publicly talked about the issue in not the best way, is do an extension, and has hinted he wants out for awhile now. Plus, he’s limited to only being an athletic defender. Embiid can do that and more and has a higher ceiling long-term.

Embiid is the future of Philly, and it doesn’t hurt that the Sixers were being a bit petty with the tweet below. The team posted that picture after Noel talked out about the teams plethora of bigs.

Next: What About Dunn And Ingram?

Jun 23, 2016; New York, NY, USA; Kris Dunn (Providence) shows off the inside of his coat after being selected as the number five overall pick to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Explanation

You’re probably wondering why the other notable rookie isn’t mentioned: Lakers forward Brandon Ingram isn’t too dominant in any particular category yet and the type of player he is, isn’t known yet.

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Along with that, his frame is still a work in progress for him to compete at an NBA level right away. Not only that, but he’ll be coming off the bench on a team with decent offensive players in D’Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson, Julius Randle and Luol Deng.

Kris Dunn of the Minnesota Timberwolves has been in the discussion by many as well. Though, that’s highly unlikely to happen. Minnesota is looking make a return to the playoffs for the first time since 2004, as they’re last appearance happened during George W. Bush’s first-term as president and prior to the release of the first iPhone.

Yeah, it’s been that long.

Dunn’s situation is interested because he’ll be battling with Ricky Rubio for those prominent minutes at guard, even though from the outside looking in it looks like Rubio is the odd man out. What mainly hurts Dunn’s chances to win Rookie of the Year is the fact that Minnesota is ready to howl back pack into the postseason with Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine as their primary options.

With those three in the lineup, along with Shabazz Muhammad off the bench, where’s the offensive production going to come from on Dunn’s part? Since Tom Thibodeau is a defensive guy, expect Dunn to garner playing time off of that.

Oct 8, 2016; Uncasville, CT, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown (7) goes up for a dunk in the 2nd quarter during a pre-season game at Mohegan Sun Arena. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

Honorable Mention

Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics most likely won’t be in the running for the NBA’s freshmen of the year award. Due to the fact that he’s in winning a situation behind established guys such as Avery Bradley and Jae Crowder. He could be a valuable asset though with his penchant to draw fouls and defend.

Heading to the Mile High is Jamal Murray. Plain and simple, he gets buckets with his ability to create and shoot. With Gary Harris out 4-to-6 weeks due to a partially torn groin muscle, Murray will have almost two months to start strong and possibly keep that starting job.

What might hurt his chance at Rookie of the Year is the fact he will have to prove he’s an offensive threat on a team with offensive firepower Emmanuel Mudiay, Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari, Kenneth Faried and Jusuf Nurkic.

It’s possible both Brown and Murray find a way into the rotation and create legitimate discussions as to why they should be Rookie of the Year once the regular-season ends.

Oct 4, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard Buddy Hield (24) is defended by Indiana Pacers forward Georges Niang (32) during the second half of a game at the Smoothie King Center. The Pacers defeated the Pelicans 113-96. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

End Verdict

It’ll be interesting to see how the NBA’s Rookie of the Year race unfolds. There are the obvious choices of who could win it and the debatable ones that are 50-50.

It’s a long season, and the race probably won’t be decided until April. Until then, enjoy the NBA’s newest crop of rookies as the league transitions into a new era.

Rookie of the Year pick: It was very hard but will go with Hield over Embiid by a slight edge.

Mainly because he’ll have a bigger opportunity to score as a bonafide second option with the New Orleans Pelicans.

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