Around the time of the All-Star Weekend, the NBA regular season award discussions also heat up. The MVP usually dominates the conversation, but one more important award is the Rookie of the Year. The best newcomer of the season has been subject to some controversy in the past, such as the case of Ben Simmons in 2018. This season should not be controversial, with Evan Mobley and Cade Cunningham front-running the field. Still, there are players that might sneak into the conversation. Thus, here are two dark horse candidates for NBA Rookie of the Year.
NBA Rookie of the Year Dark Horses candidates
The Toronto Raptors have been having an up-and-down season. For most of the season, they were under .500 but they seem to have stability now. Standing at 28-23, they hold the 7th place and with the recent slide of the Brooklyn Nets, they might even sneak into the top six places and direct qualification to the playoffs. A huge part of their season and their success has been rookie Scottie Barnes. Many expected Barnes to be good in the NBA but there are only a few that expected this level of play.
He slid into the starting line-up from the get-go, and he started all 43 games that he featured in this season. Barnes occupied the power forward position and played well in combination with Pascal Siakam, who slid to the center position. The duo spent around 900 minutes on the court together this season and they have played well. In terms of just Barnes, his numbers look solid. He is averaging around 14.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 47.4% shooting from the field, 31.6% from three, and 72.2% from the free-throw line.
These are not world-breaking numbers, but there is a case to be made that Barnes has done well to mesh within the Raptors that are most likely going back to the playoffs after missing out last season. In the last 20 games, where the Raps went 14-6, Barnes had some great statement games. In a four-point win against the Washington Wizards, Barnes scored 27 points on 63% shooting. A couple of days after that, in a 3-OT game against the Miami Heat, Barnes went off for 22 points on 7-13 shooting and he added nine rebounds to the tally.
It will be difficult for Barnes to really go into the ROTY discussion. However, the Raptors forward can still improve in the second part of the season. His passing and generally distributing the ball was a major strength in college, and he has not tapped into that in the NBA. If he can get a few games with a couple of assists more than the 3.4 average that he had by this point of the season, while the Raptors continue their great form, he could definitely sneak in. There is an argument to be made that the Cavaliers playing well works better into the Mobley narrative for ROTY, but Barnes is more or less the only addition to this Raptors squad that won just 27 games last year. That could win him a few votes, especially if the Raptors get into the playoffs directly.
When talking about narratives that are incredibly important in NBA awards, there is no better narrative than that of Josh Giddey. When the Thunder selected him with the sixth overall selection in the 2021 NBA Draft, many were stunned. Giddey is an out-and-out playmaker and the general idea was that the Thunder have that position set with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Additionally, not much was known about Giddey, who played in Adelaide 36ers prior to the draft. Most expected him to be an underwhelming rookie that has a ton of upside.
Yet, when he started playing, Giddey has shown some immense potential. The Thunder is not doing too well, granted, but they are only five wins away from their last season's tally, so there will likely be an improvement in the W column. Giddey contributed to that in a great way, due to the fact that he has been doing it all for the Thunder. His well-rounded numbers of 11.8 points, 7.6 rebounds, 6.1 assists, and 1.0 steals per game are practically unmatched by any other rookie. Of course, some of them score, assist or rebound more, but no one does it all quite like Giddey has been doing this season.
Obviously, the Thunder being out of any discussion for the postseason will hurt his case, but the Pistons are also very much out of it, yet Cade Cunningham is ranked high in the ROTY discussion. Mobley still leads, but Giddey could sneak into the discussion if he can lead the Thunder to a better second part of the season. The narrative if the Thunder can get to 30+ wins at the end of the season would be strong for Giddey, who also became the youngest player in league history to record a triple-double in a recent game against the Dallas Mavericks.
As said multiple times, it is currently a two-horse race between Mobley and Cunningham for this prestigious award. However, the Cavs have been hit by an injury bug and they are generally an inexperienced squad, so they could slide in the standings in the second part of the season. In terms of Cunningham, he missed time at the start of the season to injuries and if he was to be injured again, that could spell trouble for his case for the award. A lot can change in the standings after the All-Star break, so both Giddey and Barnes have a living chance to win the NBA Rookie of the Year.
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