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Follow Us![NBA Media Poll [Rookie of the Year] with Reed Sheppard, Zach Edey, and Matas Buzelis](https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Reed-Sheppard-favored-over-Zach-Edey-for-Rookie-of-the-Year.jpg?w=1200)
Last season, there was no discussion as to who would win the NBA's Rookie of the Year award. As good of seasons as Chet Holmgren and Brandon Miller were, Victor Wembanyama was the resounding favorite all year. Now, on the verge of the 2024-25 NBA season beginning, the narrative surrounding the Rookie of the Year award has changed significantly, as there are a ton of questions and options in this race. The preseason NBA media poll reflects this as well.
Zaccharie Risacher was drafted first overall by the Atlanta Hawks, yet he didn't emerge as the top choice for the team until weeks before the draft. Can the French teenager follow in Wembanyama's footsteps and lead the Hawks back to relevance in the Eastern Conference? Second overall pick Alex Sarr, who was taken by the Washington Wizards, also faces similar questions regarding his immediate impact that Risacher faces.
Oddly enough, Risacher and Sarr, the first two picks in the 2024 NBA Draft, aren't the rookies with the most attention being cast on them in the preseason. While fans obviously want to get accustomed to both French players, Reed Sheppard and Zach Edey have been cast in the spotlight ever since Summer League in Las Vegas.
Sheppard, a sharpshooter from Kentucky, is expected to hold a key role as an offensive talent in the same backcourt as Fred VanVleet for the Houston Rockets. His natural scoring abilities and shooting prowess make him an instant impact player either in or out of the starting lineup. Edey, on the other hand, brings a ton of attention with him from his college days at Purdue. The two-time Wooden Award winner couldn't have ended up in a better spot than with the Memphis Grizzlies to begin his career, and he has already shown signs of evolving his game since entering the NBA.
So, who will ultimately take home the Rookie of the Year crown this upcoming season?
Although there is no way to tell what is going to happen over the course of the 2024-25 season, a total of 30 different media members across the NBA, some of whom are official NBA voters, participated in ClutchPoints' preseason media poll. Along with being asked about their predictions for the 2025 NBA Finals, their preseason pick for MVP, and other awards, these media members were also tasked with choosing who they believe will win the Rookie of the Year award.
Many answers were given, but one rookie stuck out among the others as the clear favorite entering the season.
ClutchPoints' 2024-25 Rookie of the Year media poll results
- Reed Sheppard (Houston Rockets) – 36.7%
- Matas Buzelis (Chicago Bulls) – 16.7%
- Zach Edey (Memphis Grizzlies) – 13.3%
- Zaccharie Risacher (Atlanta Hawks) – 10%
Others receiving votes: Alex Sarr (WAS), Dalton Knecht (LAL), Rob Dillingham (MIN), Stephon Castle (SAS), Kel'el Ware (MIA)
Reed Sheppard emerges as Rookie of the Year favorite
Out of all the rookies entering the NBA, many have their eyes on Sheppard as the one who could run away with the Rookie of the Year award.
Although there have been mixed reviews about Sheppard's size and strength as it pertains to being able to score at the NBA level, his shooting is going to bail him out early on. At Kentucky, he shot 52.1 percent from three-point range and showed great movement with and without the ball in his hands on the perimeter. In Summer League, Sheppard averaged 20.0 points per game while shooting just 27.8 percent from long range in four games.
Those four Summer League performances prove that when his jumper isn't working, Sheppard still has other ways to score. Whether or not he gets the right minutes early on in his career in Ime Udoka's system is the big question we should be asking about the rookie guard.
The Houston Rockets are a team primed for immediate growth heading into the 2024-25 season, as Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun, and Jabari Smith Jr. remain the focal points of their young core. For Sheppard to live up to his potential, he is going to need to solidify himself as a key part of this team's core early on in his rookie season, which could be hard to do with Amen Thompson expected to see a bigger role.
If Sheppard can prove to be a reliable ball handler and facilitator behind VanVleet at the start of the 2024-25 season, then there will be reason to believe that his role and Rookie of the Year case will grow as the season progresses. However, failure to succeed over the first month of the season will result in others overtaking Sheppard in this award race.
Matas Buzelis, Zach Edey in ROTY race
Along with Sheppard, Edey is the next rookie NBA media members and fans alike are picking in the Rookie of the Year race.
The bottom line about the Memphis Grizzlies is that they weren't good last season because nobody was healthy. Ja Morant suffered a season-ending shoulder injury, Desmond Bane missed chunks of time, Marcus Smart played in limited games, and the entire secondary unit of this team was demolished by freak injuries that just kept stockpiling up. Now that everyone is healthy, there is reason to believe the Grizzlies can contend in the Western Conference.
With Steven Adams gone, Edey figures to be the opening night starting center for a Grizzlies team that utilizes the center position. Regardless of if he develops an outside shot or can run in transition with the speed Memphis possesses, Edey fits into the mold of a double-double threat for the Grizzlies. Alongside Jaren Jackson Jr., Edey is going to be a key shot blocker, and he is going to create driving lanes for both Morant and Bane in pick-and-roll sets.
Unlike Sheppard, whose role is undefined heading into the season, Edey is immediately going to be seeing around 20 minutes per game early on during his rookie campaign. Due to the fact that he has crafty playmakers around him and can be an obvious lob threat, Edey's numbers will be very solid to begin the 2024-25 season. Do not be surprised if the Purdue product is the favorite for the award over the first month or so of the new season.
Matas Buzelis is another rookie to keep a close eye on this season simply because there is no telling what the Chicago Bulls are going to look like. Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic remain the veteran leaders of a young team highlighted by backcourt talents like Coby White and Josh Giddey, but DeMar DeRozan and Alex Caruso both departed in the offseason. The Bulls, who finished with 39 wins last season and missed the playoffs for the sixth time in the last seven seasons, have a lot of question marks surrounding them.
Once thought to be a for-sure top-five pick in this year's draft, Buzelis fell all the way to the Bulls with the 11th overall pick. Aside from playing with a chip on his shoulder in his rookie season, Buzelis enters the league in an ideal spot given that he will instantly see minutes on the wing. The 19-year-old is also a Chicago native, so he will be the hometown kid for this organization.
In five Summer League games, Buzelis averaged 16.4 points and 4.2 rebounds per game while shooting 33.7 percent from the floor. Early on, shooting is going to be key for the rookie forward. If he can get in a groove and settle things down, especially from the perimeter, then Buzelis will be in the Rookie of the Year conversation.
Dark-horse Rookie of the Year candidate
Several other rookies could wind up being standout performers during the 2024-25 NBA season. In the preseason media poll, Alex Sarr, Rob Dillingham, Stephon Castle, and Kel'el Ware were four others to receive consideration. Then there was Dalton Knecht, who could be the dark horse of all dark horses.
The Los Angeles Lakers are always a storyline in the NBA. Now, even more light is being cast upon them due to Bronny James making his debut with his father, LeBron James. All of the headlines coming out of Los Angeles have been about the James', but nobody seems to want to talk about Knecht, who could be in the perfect situation since JJ Redick is his head coach.
At Tennessee, Knecht watched extensive film of Redick due to his catch-and-shoot nature of play on the perimeter. While he was expected to be a lottery pick with numerous teams showing interest in his skills, the 23-year-old ended up falling all the way to 17th overall. Ultimately, this may end up being a blessing in disguise for Knecht.
Unlike joining a team where he would have to earn his stripes in practice, Redick already has a plan for his rookie wing. After all, if there is one thing Redick is going to value and one thing the Lakers need more of, it is perimeter shooting. Knecht can instantly make an impact as a shooter in a LeBron-led offense, and he has shown glimpses of his offensive prowess throughout the summer.
Reed Sheppard may be the early favorite for the NBA Rookie of the Year award based on the preseason media poll, but this is a wide-open race that won't be determined until the final month of the regular season.
