Each season, approximately 80 fresh faces get a chance to step out on the sacred floor and witness their lifelong dream come true. While the rookies themselves are more than eager to showcase their talent on the big stage, there is a platoon of fans, analysts and journalists just waiting to prematurely smack on a label of a bust or a draft steal to these inexperienced players.
That definitely puts a decent amount of pressure on both the player and the coach who needs to carefully ease his new piece in, but it also allows us to see whether the rookie is equipped with sufficient mental strength to handle the high expectations. After all, the rookie debut has actually proven to be a solid indicator of what a player's career might shape up to be in the future.
It was obvious from the get go that Allen Iverson, the shortest ever #1 pick from the historic '96 draft, will have absolutely no issues with imposing his unique playstyle against seasoned veterans. As he set foot on the NBA court, he immediately dropped the first of the 381 career 30-point games, dished out six assists, and left all 76ers drooling about their future after a disheartening 18-64 season record. The manner in which he got his first basket, despite being ruined by a goaltend, was a thing of beauty and a sign of many memorable crossovers to come.
We would have to wait for precisely three years and one day to witness another rookie dropping 30 points in his debut. The Clippers decided to turn their fourth pick in 1999 into Lamar Odom, who was still a teenager at the time, and were instantly overjoyed with the potential their new rookie put on display. He finished his NBA christening against the Supersonics as the leading team scorer despite shooting just 8-15 from the charity stripe, and he also threw in 12 rebounds, 3 assists and a couple of steals and blocks for good measure. Although the off-court issues that stuck with him throughout his career prevented him from reaching his full potential and becoming an all star, there is a lingering impression that a fully fit and focused Odom would be an invaluable asset in today's NBA.
Four years after Odom put on an impressive all-around display in his career debut, another teenager was ready to start his quest of reaching the NBA pantheon. No introduction was really necessary for Lebron James; the level of hype surrounding him was unprecedented, and even went as far as his high school game being nationally televised. On October 29th 2003, the entirety of the public attention shifted towards ARCO Arena, the home of the Kings who were still feeling the bad taste in their mouths after a controversial WCF exit against the Lakers. Lebron promptly responded with a jaw-dropping performance, showcasing his versatile playstyle with 25 points, 6 rebounds, 9 assists and 4 steals on 60% shooting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgD-NKrzSpY
Lebron, AI and Odom definitely set the bar high for all the rookies who were just about to start filling in the pages of their first NBA chapter, but statistically, their amazing career debuts seem almost laughable when compared to those of the two juggernauts who eventually became the symbols of the '60's and '70's. In his typical fashion, Wilt Chamberlain announced the birth of his era of dominance with a ridiculous 43 point, 28 rebound performance, a statline would be tough to reach even in a NBA 2K debut.
Just a year later, another incredibly skilled player would enter the league. Despite not sporting a freakish physique as his aforementioned counterpart, Oscar Robertson immediately started proving that he'll consistently be making his presence felt in all aspects of the game. The 21/12/10 triple-double he recorded in his first game in October of 1960 remains the sole debut triple-double in the history of the NBA, and it's hard to imagine anyone repeating the feat in the modern NBA era.
Of course, the correlation between memorable debuts and amazing careers isn't set in stone; having a noteworthy inaugural game doesn't necessarily mean that a player is destined for a historical career. A prime example of that is Gordan Giricek, a lanky Euro-stash player from Croatia that the Grizzlies decided to call up for the start of the 2002-2003 season.
He wasn't even a starter that night, but once he entered the game off the bench, he exploded for 29 points and 5 rebounds on 71% shooting. Although Giricek was already 25 at the time, it's easy to imagine what went through Grizz' fans heads that night. Did we just get a new Toni Kukoc? Drazen Petrovic perhaps? Sadly, that wasn’t the case. This game remained the best game of his career, and although he was sixth among rookies in scoring that season and made the All-Rookie Second team, he was out of the league in just seven seasons, during which he was nothing more than a serviceable role-player.
The start of the 2013-2014 season gave us a performance that topped even the debuts by Lebron and Allen Iverson that are still frequently replayed by NBA fans. It was the King himself that was about to face Michael Carter Williams, the 11th pick, in the opening night following the first championship title won by the big three. The odds were in favor of 76ers getting beaten to the ground, but MCW wasn't even slightly impressed with the reputation of the reigning NBA champs. He completely went off and flirted with a quadruple-double, finishing the game with a spectacular statline of 22 points, 7 rebounds, 12 assists and 9 steals. The fantastic display left the nation speechless, and Carter Williams was seen as the second coming of the Answer, the franchise point guard that will carry the 76ers back into relevance.
Much to the dismay of 76ers fans, that timeline never came to be, and MCW simply wasn't able to replicate what he did on that magical night of October 30, 2013. His status gradually devolved to that of an NBA journeyman, mostly thanks to the shooting woes that constantly haunted him. At least he'll always be able to take pride in what will be written down as arguably the best NBA debut of the modern era.
Fast forward to today; after a relatively disappointing draft class of 2016, this fresh batch of rookies started mesmerizing the NBA audience with their insane potential right off the bat. In fact, this is the season with the highest number of rookies (11) starting off their season scoring in double-digits since 1999. Some of the most highly coveted prospects unlocked rather interesting statistical achievements as soon as they were introduced to the NBA.
For example, Ben Simmons, the last year's draft pick who retained his rookie rights due to sitting out the season prior, became the first rookie since Grant Hill to post at least 15 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists in his career debut. That same night Dennis Smith Jr., another exciting prospect that many see as a dark horse candidate for winning the ROY award, has shown Mark Cuban and Rick Carlisle that he just might next cornerstone of the Mavs franchise after Dirk's inevitable retirement – he became the youngest player ever to record a points/assist double-double in his career debut. However, it was the third night of the new NBA season that was the most anticipated in this context, and that was supposed to be an icing on the cake of rookie debuts.
The hype that was generated around Lonzo Ball almost reached 2003 Lebron levels. While Lavar Ball's sheninagans and controversial statements provided some lighthearted fun during the offseason, they evidently painted a huge target on his son's back. Unfortunately for them, a merciless executor was more than ready to welcome Lonzo to the league. In the 29 plays Patrick Beverley guarded, or rather straight up bullied Ball, he was allowed just two shots at the basket, both of which he missed. While some found Lonzo Ball's final statline with single digits in each category anticlimactic, many immediately jumped the gun with their surefire bust labels and complementary told you so‘s.
Some long-tenured NBA fans might remember that, back in 1989, there was another riveting prospect that started his career on a seriously bad note. Tim Hardaway made his debut with an even more atrocious 0-7 shooting, and he also committed 5 personal fouls in 23 minutes of action. Despite the drab performance at the dawn of his career, Hardaway would go on to form one of the most exciting assemblies in the NBA, the Run TMC, and also have his jersey retired by the Heat to honor the later part of his career.
That goes to show that overreactions based on just a single game, no matter how huge or supposedly indicative of the player's career, simply make no sense. While it's true that many great players and NBA legends had amazing debuts, there's also a certain number of historically good players who completely flopped in their debuts, and those who started their NBA journey on a high note, just to completely crumble and be out of the league in a few years.
That was yet again proven by Lonzo Ball, who simply didn't let a bad start destabilize him. Just a day after his disastrous debut he completely outshone everyone on the court, and was just an assist shy of becoming the youngest player ever to record a triple-double, allowing the Lakers fans to breathe a collective sigh of relief. Now that he has promptly returned back on track, the hopes that enticing youth will not only increase the number in the W column, but also lure the highly ranking free agents to the City of Angels, may safely continue.
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