With the 2023-24 regular season in the books, the NBA has announced its All-Rookie teams.
2023-24 NBA All-Rookie teams:
First team: Victor Wembanyama, Chet Holmgren, Brandon Miller, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Brandin Podziemski
Second team: Dereck Lively II, GG Jackson II, Keyonte George, Amen Thompson, Cason Wallace
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 20, 2024
The complete voting results for the All-Rookie teams can be found here.
NBA Announces 2023-24 All-Rookie Team Selections
First Team
Three of the players who earned First Team honors —Victor Wembanyama, Chet Holmgren, and Brandon Miller —were locks, as three were finalists for Rookie of the Year.
Wembanyama, a 7-foot-4 forward-center, has took the league by storm as a nightly quintuple-double threat. He came away with the Rookie of the Year award in a landslide after averaging 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 3.6 blocks, and 1.2 steals per game.
The 2023-24 Kia NBA All-Rookie First Team:
Chet Holmgren of @okcthunder
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) May 20, 2024
That said, Holmgren and Miller were impressive throughout their rookie campaign, showing themselves to be worthy of being top-3 picks. Notably, Holmgren was selected in the 2022 NBA Draft, but missed the entire 2022-23 season as he recovered from a Lisfranc injury. The unicorn averaged 16.5 points and 2.3 blocks per game while shooting 37.0 percent from 3.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Brandin Podziemski being named to the All-Rookie First Team is more surprising.
In the case of Jaquez, who was taken 18th overall, the now 23-year-old was drafted after four seasons at UCLA. Traditionally, teams are less keen on four-year prospects, valuing age and unrealized potential. However, Jaquez helped prove that NBA readiness is just as valuable a skill, averaging 11.9 points per game on 48.9 percent shooting from the field.
Podziemski was picked just one spot after Jaquez out of unheralded Santa Clara. An on and off again starter for the Golden State Warriors, Podziemski was a Swiss Army Knife for the perennial championship contender. The versatile guard averaged 9.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 0.8 steals per game while shooting 38.5 percent from 3.
Second Team
Among the Second Team selections, Dereck Lively II, Keyonte George, and GG Jackson II were the most obvious choices but they all had far different journeys in their rookie season.
Drafted 12th overall, Lively became a full-time starter after his second game. However, injuries and a midseason trade for the more experienced Daniel Gafford led him back to the Dallas Mavericks’ bench. Lively averaged 8.8 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game.
George, drafted 16th overall, started the season coming off the bench but was promoted to the first unit in November. With a starting role seeming like too much for him to handle, he was relegated to the bench after 16 games. He wouldn’t regain his starting spot until February, improving his shot-selection and on-ball defense thereafter. While inefficient (.533 true shooting percentage), George averaged 13.0 points and 4.4 assist per game.
The 2023-24 Kia NBA All-Rookie Second Team:
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) May 20, 2024
GG Jackson’s opportunity came only after injuries turned the Memphis Grizzlies rotation into a skeleton crew. Drafted 45th overall, Jackson is the youngest player in the NBA, only having turned 19 on Dec. 17. That said, despite his youth and draft position, few doubted his potential. However, few expected him to average 17.6 points per game after the All-Star Break.
Amen Thompson and Cason Wallace also flew under the radar for most of the season.
In Thompson’s case, his draft position (4th overall) and physical profile generated a lot of intrigue. However, an early season injury prevented him from establishing himself as part of the rotation until late December. Playing behind an MVP finalist in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put Wallace in a shadow that wouldn’t been hard for anyone to escape from. Nonetheless, his steady play was hard to ignore.
Scoot Snubbed
With No. 3 pick Scoot Henderson averaging 14.0 points and 5.4 assists per game, the G League Ignite product was snubbed.
He averaged more points and assists than Wallace, Thompson, Podziemski, and George. He had a more integral role than Wallace and Thompson as well. Though his inconsistency was frustrating, he should have at least been a Second Team selection.
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