The end-of-year NBA awards are upon us as each player seeks recognition for their impressive play throughout the year. While many debate the MVP or DPOY, the All-Rookie teams hold quite a bit of importance to the young players. There were many standout performers from the rookie class this year. This led to stiff competition for the All-Rookie teams. As the votes finally settled, Shams Charania dropped the official decision for the 2022 season.

Overall this is an extremely solid list. Each of these guys proved why they belong in the NBA and can contribute in a major fashion. Scottie Barnes, Cade Cunningham, and Evan Mobley were each unanimous First Team All-Rookie members. As great as all these members proved to be it is impossible to fit all the worthy rookies into two teams. The strong play across the entire class is further evidence that the NBA is in great hands moving forward. Here are three guys who got the short end of the stick in the rookie voting:

3 biggest snubs from NBA All-Rookie teams:

3)Herb Jones

While he may not be a snub in the traditional sense, it is disappointing not to see Herb Jones crack the All-Rookie First Team. Jones played a valuable role for the New Orleans Pelicans this season with his high-level defense. The Alabama product was arguably the third most important player on the Pelicans this season and this was put on display during their postseason success. Herb Jones’ abilities were shown on a national stage as New Orleans cruised past the Clippers in the play-in game and notched two victories over the Phoenix Suns in the opening round.

In total, Jones averaged 9.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.7 steals in his 29.9 minutes of play. His defense was game-changing on a nightly basis. There are few players who are capable of contributing to winning postseason basketball as a rookie but Jones did exactly this. The second-round pick received 32 first-team votes and was sixth overall in voting. He was a deserving candidate for the first-team but has an incredibly bright future nonetheless.

2)Davion Mitchell

Davion Mitchell came into a tough situation when he was drafted by the Kings. In addition to the fact that they are the Sacramento Kings, the roster was loaded with guard talent. Despite being stuck behind De’Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton to start the year, Mitchell found ways to impact the game when the opportunity was given. His emergence likely played a major role in the decision to trade away Haliburton as the franchise starved to get closer to winning.

In total, the 6-foot guard averaged 11.5 points, 4.2 assists, and 2.2 rebounds in his 27.7 minutes of play. He tallied three double-doubles in the Kings’ final five games and brought elite-level defense on a nightly basis. Mitchell embraced the challenge of guarding opposing stars and held Steph Curry, Donovan Mitchell, and Dame Lillard to a combined 33% field-goal percentage when matched up with them. Mitchell fought through adversity and brought his tenacity on an every-night basis. For that, he deserved some more love for the NBA’s All-Rookie Team.

1) Jonathan Kuminga

The former G-League Ignite standout went into the draft as one of the youngest players last season. He was selected 7th overall by the now fully healthy Golden State Warriors who leaped back into the contender conversation. Kuminga possessed some impressive shot-creating and offensive skills but was raw overall. Being tossed onto a contender at age 18 is a difficult task for any player, but Kuminga handled it in stride and could have been on the All-Rookie Team.

In total, he averaged 9.3 points and 3.3 rebounds in his 16.9 minutes of play during the regular season. Kuminga reinvented himself in order to find a way to fit into the Warriors’ short-term plans. He continues to help the team through their playoff run- even having started three games in the postseason.

The scouting report on him leading up to the draft was his flashiness and scoring ability. However, the rookie has been able to serve as more of an effort player and improve his defensive game throughout the year. The ability to make these sorts of adjustments is a difficult task and has translated to team success. Jonathan Kuminga deserves a ton of credit for this and there is a strong argument that he had one of the ten best seasons of the rookie class.