In the latest edition of our NBA Rookie Power Rankings, a new No. 1 emerges as Jared McCain goes down with an injury.
As we begin to enter the holiday season, it's only natural to begin to look forward to how the NBA's Rookie of the Year race is unfolding. While there have been plenty of changes to this power rankings through the first two months of the season, there are a few rookies who have begun to settle into playing at the NBA level after a difficult first few weeks of their respective seasons.
Over the next few weeks, you'd have to imagine that, if it isn't the case already, many of the contenders for this award are going to begin to separate themselves from the rest of the pack. For now, there's still plenty of unknown regarding who is going to win this award but there are certainly some interesting storylines that are beginning to develop as we arrive at the one-third mark of the 2024-25 NBA regular season. Let's explore this week's NBA Rookie Power Rankings.
8. Dalton Knecht, Los Angeles Lakers
As you would expect, it's been a pretty up-and-down season for Dalton Knecht. He got off to somewhat of a slow start, then got hot for a few weeks, and now finds himself back in a bit of a cold streak. Still, it's hard to argue against how important he's been to the Lakers so far this season. Overall, Knecht is still averaging 10 points per game on 46 percent shooting from the field and 37 percent shooting from 3-point range.
Those may not be NBA Rookie of the Year numbers but those are still solid stats overall for a player that was drafted outside the lottery. If he can manage to get hot, there's reason to believe that he can make a run up these rankings but it does appear to be a tall task for the moment.
7. Zach Edey, Memphis Grizzlies
An injury to Zach Edey may have thrown off his bid to win the NBA's Rookie of the Year award but there's no question that now that he's back, he should get some love in this power ranking. On the year, Edey is averaging 11 points and seven rebounds on 61 percent shooting from the field. As he gains more experience and confidence, it will truly be interesting to see what his final role will look like this season.
In the contending Grizzlies, Edey has become somewhat of a luxury for the team. At least for now, the move to select Edey, one of the most polarizing players in this year's draft class, with their top 10 pick seems understandable.