ROTY Candidates for the 2020-21 Season

We came into this season calling this rookie draft class "trash" and "top-heavy" but a few of the players I'm about to talk about really changed up that narrative. Today, I am going to go over the top 10 rookies in this draft class, in-depth on the top 5, and explaining to you who deserves rookie of the year and why.

Players 6-10:

Patrick Williams

James Wiseman

Desmond Bane

Jae'sean Tate

Cole Anthony

Tyrese Haliburton

Injuries on top of injuries are a recipe for disaster. After missing four games, Haliburton returned on March 11. In 28 games, he averaged 12.7 points and 5.3 assists while shooting 38 percent from beyond the arc. Unfortunately, due to a knee injury, the former first-round pick from Iowa State will miss the rest of the season. This will undoubtedly affect his chances of winning the NBA Rookie of the Year award.

Lamelo Ball

There aren't any other options. Ball was one of the best rookies the league has seen in a long time. This No. 3 pick has been one of the best all-around players in the NBA since taking over the starting spot on Feb. 1. That isn't an exaggeration. Prior to going down to injury on March 20, he was averaging 19.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 6.2 assists in 21 games as a starter. Ball has averaged 16.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 6.6 assists in three games since his return. Edwards will face competition for the top individual award if he keeps playing like this for the rest of the regular season.

Saddiq Bey

Bey has been one of the best all-around rookies in the league since the Detroit Pistons decided to sit Blake Griffin before buying him out. In February, he was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week, and he continues to play at a high level. In reality, over the last 16 games, the Villanova product has averaged 15.4 points and 5.8 rebounds while shooting 39 percent from the three-point range. As a result, he'll be among the top three NBA Rookie of the Year candidates as the season progresses.

Emmanuel Quickley

Quickley's game has taken a big hit in terms of quality since his introduction into the Knicks' rotation in January. In 11 of his last 18 games, the former Kentucky star has averaged fewer than ten points while shooting 44 percent from the floor. What's the good news? Quickley has improved recently, scoring 12.6 points on 53 percent shooting from distance in his last seven games for the Knicks, who are on a roll.

Anthony Edwards

Edwards, who is now one of the favourites to win the NBA Rookie of the Year award, has significantly improved his game in the second half of the season. Over his last 29 games, the No. 1 pick from Georgia has averaged 23.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.6 steals. He's also improved his shooting percentage, shooting 43 percent in his last 36 games after shooting 37 percent in his first 36.

If you've read this far, I'm guessing you wanna see the final list. Well, here it is:

10: Desmond Bane

9: Patrick Williams

8: James Wiseman

7: Cole Anthony

6: Jae'sean Tate

5: Saddiq Bey

4: Emmanuel Quickley

3: Tyrese Haliburton

2: Anthony Edwards

and my pick for the NBA ROTY goes to...

1: Lamelo Ball