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The Philadelphia 76ers' season has been impeded by several misfortunes. But rookie Jared McCain was shining so bright that he became the odds-on favorite to win the rookie of the year.
When McCain suffered a knee injury and was ruled out indefinitely, the market responded. The award's odds-leaderboard looks completely different. And the draft's #4 overall pick, Stephon Castle, has taken the top spot with his play for the San Antonio Spurs.
Grizzlies rookie center Zach Edey was the clubhouse leader coming into the season. The Canadian colossus now has just the fifth-best odds to come out on top at +1500, according to Fanduel. The first player selected in the 2024 NBA Draft was Hawks wing Zaccharie Risacher, who is +1000 to take home the award despite sitting at +850 preseason.
Dalton Knecht's name got national attention during a great stretch of play for his Los Angeles Lakers and catapulted from +1100 odds preseason to his current standing of +500. His production has cooled off recently but he remains firmly in third place for the award.
The Pelicans came into the season with Daniel Theis and rookie Yves Missi at center. The 20-year old big man from Baylor is averaging 9.2 points and 8.5 rebounds per game this season – and an impressive 11.5 rebounds per game over his last eight games played. Missi's preseason chances at Rookie of the Year were considered to be so small that he was well over +6000 on major sportsbooks. He reminds you at times on the court that he is still a raw player, but the potential is clear.
Stephon Castle's impact on the Spurs has him in pole position for ROTY
Castle is a raw basketball talent. He turned 20-years old in early November. His 48.0 true-shooting percentage is in the sixth percentile among all NBA players. But if you aren't seeing the ways in which he's already impacting winning, you're not looking.
This rookie class was intensely maligned before a single player touched the court because of its lack of franchise cornerstones and traditional lead scoring options. Those players tend to dominate these awards by having the best sheet of statistics at the end of the season and having their team's success factored in to a degree.
But McCain and Knecht were the only rookies coming close to fitting that bill. With McCain's injury and Knecht averaging approximately 6.4 points per game over his last seven games played, the red carpet has been rolled out for impact and glue guys to have a shot. Castle's Spurs are certainly improved from last season and, even if his shooting is currently wildly inefficient, his on/off metrics indicate they're better off with him playing.
Castle's box scores are volatile. He just scored 22 points on 53% shooting against the Pelicans and followed it up by shooting 1-for-8 as the Timberwolves grabbed a win on the road. But there's plenty of season left for him to continue to settle into playing at the NBA level.
The other rookies on the leaderboard will certainly be looking to do the same.
