NBA Rookie Power Rankings: Luka Doncic stays on top, but Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Collin Sexton keep climbing

Last week it appeared that Dallas Mavericks guard/forward Luka Doncic was beginning to pull away from the pack, partly due to his professional experience giving him a leg up on his college-playing brethren in the rookie class. However, this week things got much closer.

Doncic still earned the top spot, though it was largely due to his team's performance. It's rare that a high lottery pick experiences a 3-0 week, so Doncic and his high usage rate get credit for the success. Rapidly climbing the list were a pair of young guards: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Clippers and Collin Sexton of the Cavaliers, who have both been given more responsibility and proven worthy thus far.

New entries this week include Knicks rookie Kevin Knox, who is finally starting to get healthy and give New York fans at least a small reason to watch the games. Here are this week's NBA Rookie Power Rankings.

This week's NBA Rookie Power Rankings

1	Luka Doncic Dallas Mavericks SF
Last week: 1 Stats this week: 15.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.3 steals Doncic's stats were down a bit this week, as were his percentages, but he gets credit here for leading his Mavs to a 3-0 week, including resounding wins over two likely Western Conference playoff teams, the Thunder and Jazz. Doncic had a net rating of plus-11.1 this week, which is difficult for any rookie to pull off, even in a small sample size. The 19-year-old Slovenian is already the early favorite for Rookie of the Year, and if he can keep the Mavericks on the winning track, it's pretty much a lock.
2	Deandre Ayton Phoenix Suns C
Last week: 3 Stats this week: 17.0 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists Ayton continues to be as consistent as any rookie, nearly averaging a double-double again this week. His most impressive performance came in a 20-point win over the Spurs, when he put up 17 points on 8-for-11 shooting to go along with 10 rebounds in 30 minutes. Though it was an end-of-shot-clock situation, Ayton also put up his first NBA 3-pointer, which nearly dropped from about four feet behind the line. With his sound shooting mechanics, it's only a matter of time before he starts to step out and expand his range.
3	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Los Angeles Clippers PG
Last week: 8 Stats this week: 14.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.3 blocks, 1.0 steals Gilgeous-Alexander took over for the injured Avery Bradley in the starting lineup, and it looks like he's won the job moving forward. The rookie was a revelation this week, playing huge minutes as the Clippers pulled out three more victories. For a 20-year-old who lacks elite athleticism, Gilgeous-Alexander has been excellent in pick-and-roll situations, averaging 1.06 points per possession according to Synergy Sports Tech. He hasn't been getting all the way to the rim much, but he's been deadly with his mid-range pull-up. Once teams start playing up on this shot, it will open up all sorts of driving and passing lanes for SGA to do even more damage.
4	Collin Sexton Cleveland Cavaliers PG
Last week: 10 Stats this week: 20.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists In a full week as the Cavs' starting point guard, Sexton looked much more comfortable in his skin, leading all rookies in scoring at 20 points per game. He's still not going to be confused for Steve Nash any time soon -- he had as many turnovers as assists this week -- but he shot well from the field (48 percent) and went 6-of-8 on 3-pointers. Injured All-Star Kevin Love told our Bill Reiter that the team wants Sexton to shoot more 3-pointers or get all the way to the basket instead of settling for mid-range jumpers, so look for that as the next evolution of his game.
5	Wendell Carter Jr. Chicago Bulls PF
Last week: 2 Stats this week: 11.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.0 blocks Carter's efficiency dipped a bit (46 percent field goals), but he still had a solid week for the Bulls. Carter has managed to play stout on-ball defense without fouling -- a difficult task for young NBA big men, particularly with the new rule emphasis this season. He blocked two shots per game this week, and continues to have an impact on both ends for the young Bulls.
6	Jaren Jackson Jr. Memphis Grizzlies PF
Last week: 5 Stats this week: 10.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.0 blocks, 1.0 steals Jackson appears to have conquered the foul problems that plagued the early part of his career, and has become a staple for a Grizzlies team that finds itself in playoff position at 8-5. He's been an eraser on defense, blocking two more shots per game this week, and is allowing just 0.69 points per possession to opponents around the basket this season, among the best in the league according to Synergy. Watch as Jackson is first able to slide around two screens, move his feet while keeping his hands up, then swat Paul Millsap's shot off the glass with his left hand while barely jumping off the ground. Then he's able to contest Jae Crowder's 3-point look and still recover to alter the shot at the rim, again with his off hand. Jackson is already a major problem for opponents defensively, and he's only going to become more valuable as his offense develops.
7	Trae Young Atlanta Hawks PG
Last week: 4 Stats this week: 11.5 points, 7.8 assists, 3.3 rebounds Young continued to have a front-row seat on the shooting struggle bus this week, hitting just four of his 20 3-point attempts and shooting 32 percent from the field in an 0-4 week for the Hawks. Atlanta had a minus-12.2 net rating with him on the court, but he continues to display tremendous vision and passing ability, leading all rookies in assists for the week yet again. "We love when he's aggressive. Tonight some shots just didn't fall, but I told him he had nine assists, three steals, five rebounds," teammate Kent Bazemore said after Young's four-point, 2-for-12 performance in Tuesday's loss to the Warriors. "When your shot isn't falling, how are you impacting the game? He was good for us down the stretch, with a couple stops and a couple steals. You're not gonna make all your shots every night, but, like I said, it's just finding a way to still impact the game."
8	Kevin Knox New York Knicks SF
Last week: Unranked Stats this week: 14.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, 0.7 steals Knox played in three games this week, including the first start of his career in Wendesday's loss to Oklahoma City. He shot horrendously from the field, but did manage to put the ball in the basket. He tied a career high with 17 points against the Magic, and followed that up with 15 against the Thunder. Knox's rebounding numbers have been lower than expected, so he'll have to pick up that aspect of his game as he continues to get his legs underneath him.
9	Josh Okogie Minnesota Timberwolves SG
Last week: Unranked Stats this week: 8.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.0 steals Okogie could see even more playing time now that Jimmy Butler has finally been shipped out of Minnesota. In his first game without Butler, the 20-year-old was all over the place (in a good way) in a win over the Pelicans, scoring 11 points while hitting three of his five 3-point attempts. Okogie said before the season that he felt the NBA game was slower than college, and he reiterated that idea when I spoke with him a couple weeks ago in Oakland. "It definitely is slower," Okogie said. "Like, the faster you go, the more you're in a rush. You've got to slow down. Usually in college, the faster you go, the more you can outrun somebody, obviously, the more efficient you'll be. But here [in the NBA], you've got to take your time, and it's more about being efficient than being super fast." Okogie said the game is slowing down for him, but that he still has a ways to go.
10	Mikal Bridges Phoenix Suns SF
Last week: Unranked Stats this week: 9.3 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.0 blocks Bridges hasn't done much on offense besides score and hasn't been connecting on his 3-pointers recently (2-for-11 this week), but he makes this week's rankings because of his defense. He led all rookies in net rating this week at plus-24.7, largely because the Suns held opponents to 93.5 offensive rating when Bridges was on the court. With tremendous length and size, once his shot starts falling consistently Bridges will become one of the most promising young 3-and-D guys in the league.