Jalen Williams deserves to be named Rookie of the Year, and it is a shame he won't get the award because of popularity
The Thunder rookie is one of the most efficient two-way players to enter the league in recent years and he deserves some more praise
Jalen Williams is no stranger to being underrated. Santa Clara was the first school to show extreme interest in him and Williams committed there as a Junior in high school. Despite some major D-1 programs such as Arizona showing interest in him as a Senior, Williams stayed loyal to Santa Clara and became one of the best players to ever step on that campus. He incrementally improved every aspect of his game each year for the Broncos, before garnering first-round interest from NBA teams as Junior.
As a prospect, Williams was very unique, displaying elite playmaking and shot creation for a 6-7 PG/Wing, and boasting a 7-2 wingspan and the ability to be a high-end multi-positional defender. When Williams was available with the 12th overall pick, the Thunder wasted no time selecting him, considering he was only there at 12 because he went to a mid major. Months before the draft, I was high on Williams, continually promoting him as a top 10 pick that could wind up being one of the five best players of the 2022 NBA Draft. Even as one of his biggest admirers, I also underestimated him, considering he could now become THE best player from the 2022 Draft, not just a top 5-10 player.
Although it took some time for the Thunder to feel comfortable relying on Williams in the starting lineup, since the new year, he has averaged 15.4 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 2.1 steals per game with a TS% of 60.4. There is no one remotely close in this rookie class as impactful as a defender as Williams, who leads all rookies in steals, is top 3 in blocks, and is typically guarding the opposing team’s first or second best player on a nightly basis.
However, when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (31.2 points, 5.7 assists, and 1.7 steals per game with a TS% of 62.6) missed four games in row at the end of February and beginning of March, Williams became the Thunder’s #1 option and did not disappoint, as he’s averaged 23.6 points, 5.6 assists, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.6 steals per game with a TS% of 71 over his last 5 games. Even when SGA returned against the Jazz on March 5th, Williams had arguably his best game of the season putting up 32 points on 80% shooting from the floor, while also pulling in 5 rebounds, dishing out 5 assists, and finishing with 2 blocks and 2 steals as well.
Overall, Williams is the most efficient rookie in the class indicative of his PSA (points per 100 shot attempts) of 120.3, ranked in the 76th percentile for Wings. Williams’ eFG% of 57.8 ranks in the 83rd percentile for Wings in the NBA, also the highest mark of any rookie with a decent usage percentage. Another impressive stat for Williams is his efficiency at the rim, shooting 71% (191/269 overall on the season), ranked in the 82nd percentile for Wings, not just rookies. The numbers indicate that Williams is the best rookie in the NBA this season and as a result should win the award.
However, we all know he won’t win the award and instead it will go to someone else probably unanimously. Before I get into why I don’t think that is fair, the player we all know will win the award has done some impressive things this season. Averaging 20 points per game as a rookie is hard enough, whether it is inefficient or not. Paolo Banchero (20 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 3.6 assists with an abysmal eFG% of 45.8) is one of the least efficient shot-makers in the NBA this season and hasn’t had a substantial impact defensively either.
Banchero’s PSA of 105 is ranked in the 20th percentile for Forwards and is the second-lowest mark of any rookie that gets playing time (Jabari Smith Jr.’s PSA of 99 is only worse). Though his foul drawing abilities are first class (already fouled on a whopping 19.2% of his shot attempts, ranked in the 97th percentile for Forwards), Banchero is shooting just 28% from 3PT range (ranked in the 9th percentile for Forwards), 36% from mid range (ranked in the 32nd percentile for Forwards), and just 64% at the rim (178/278, ranked in just the 36th percentile for Forwards).
A lot of the reason people overlook Banchero’s atrocious efficiency is because of the hype. He went #1 overall and had a lot of expectations in turning around this Magic roster. Banchero has certainly helped the Magic improve their win total by a lot already this season, and by no means is he undeserving of being in consideration for the Rookie of The Year award. He still has the ability to become a Superstar in this league if he can become more efficient from the field as his career goes on.
Nonetheless, Williams has excelled on both ends of the floor this season, and has helped the Thunder compete for the Play-In Tournament as well. The Thunder’s sudden ascension to contention is not simply because of Gilgeous-Alexander (a lot of it is though), but Williams being a menace on both ends of the floor and being able to impact the game in a variety of different ways. Furthermore, the Rookie of The Year award should be given to Jalen Williams, but because of the hype surrounding #1 pick Paolo Banchero, it will be given unanimously to Banchero regardless of his abysmal advanced shooting metrics.