We've got a week and some change left of the regular season, which means we're nearing the end for the draft class of 2023. And while we'll look back on this rookie class and revel in the greatness of Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren, what the end of this season is showing us is the real depth the 2023 draft had. We're seeing guys who started off slow or didn't get much playing time stepping up and playing themselves into heavy rotation minutes for next season. Guys like Taylor Hendricks, Gradey Dick and GG Jackson have started to make a name for themselves as their teams prioritize playing younger guys.
Now let's move on to this week's rankings. Keep in mind that these rankings will reflect a rookie's performance on a week-to-week basis only, not the collective season. These aren't Rookie of the Year standings but rather a reflection on what the player has done over the past week. With that straightened out, here is a look at the top five performers from the NBA's freshman class:
Wembanyama's rookie season may go down as one of the greatest in NBA history. At a point in the season where the Spurs certainly don't have anything left to play for, you would think this is when he'd be starting to sputter, likely looking ahead to playing for the French national team at the Olympics this summer. Instead, what we were treated to this week was an absurd 40-point, 20-rebound performance in a win over the Knicks. It was one of those performances you want to give a standing ovation for, I mean it, it was that otherworldly. It was a career high for Wemby, and he was also the first rookie in league history to record that statline since Shaquille O'Neal more than 30 years ago, while also being the first player in Spurs history to log a 40-point, 20-rebound, five-assist game.
Four days after that, the No. 1 overall pick in last June's draft was just one block and two assists shy of recording that elusive quadruple-double. It's the third time this season Wembanyama's flirted with that statline, and this time, it came against the defending champion Denver Nuggets where he put up 23 points, 15 rebounds, nine blocks and eight assists. After the game, Nuggets coach Michael Malone called Wemby the "future of the NBA," and for good reason. At this rate, I'm running out of adjectives to describe the performances Wembanyama is turning in on an almost nightly basis.
Henderson's peaking at the right time, so it's a shame there's only a week and a half left of the regular season. After an injury-filled rookie campaign that didn't see him really hit his stride until January, Henderson's starting to put the scoring, playmaking and efficiency all together. In a meeting against Brandon Miller -- who was drafted one spot ahead of him -- Henderson showed the Hornets what they could be missing, dropping 22 points on an incredibly efficient 56.3% from the floor while also racking up 10 assists.
Things seem to be slowing down for Henderson now, and against the Hornets everything appeared so fluid. He was draining 3s, using screens to get into the paint and sink floaters and pulled off some tough layups through traffic, too. His facilitation was also on full display, especially his chemistry with Deandre Ayton in pick-and-rolls. Ayton's game has really opened up over the past couple of months, and Henderson just kept feeding him to drain elbow jumpers all night against the Hornets.
Like this:
While it hasn't quite been the rookie season Henderson or the Trail Blazers probably expected, finishing the year on a high note is incredibly important and he seems on track to do so.
After the Hornets lost to Henderson and the Blazers this week, recent ex-coach Steve Clifford was asked about the team's decision to draft Miller over Henderson with the No. 2 pick in last June's draft.
Here's what he had to say:
"Positional size, versatility, shooting -- in college he shot the ball well -- a great competitor in college which is obviously critical to me, that's the most important thing. And then his workouts here. He had two workouts here and in one of them he was really good and the other one he was lights out. We liked Scoot [Henderson] a lot too, we took Brandon [Miller] because we just thought Brandon was so good."
We've seen countless times this season how good Miller can be and the flashes he's shown of being an elite two-way player in this league. The beauty of his game is the fact that he doesn't need the ball in his hands to make an impact on offense. We've seen him be a 3-point threat when LaMelo Ball was healthy, and we've also seen him be a ball-dominant guard who can run the offense and create for himself. His length and size also make him a versatile defender on the other end. At the time, it was seen as controversial to pick Miller over Henderson, but so far, it seems to be working out pretty well for the Hornets.
Hendricks has seen a bump in minutes since the All-Star break, and this week he turned in back-to-back 18-point performances while shooting over 50% from the floor in both games. But it's not just the offense, he's making an impact on the defensive side of the ball as well. And two weeks ago he talked about his commitment on that end of the floor, saying he wants to guard the best players every night. He's already taken the task of guarding the likes of Luka Doncic and Anthony Edwards, so he's certainly not shying away from the challenge. It's unclear exactly what direction the Jazz are headed in after this season, but Hendricks has proven over the last two months that he should be part of the rotation going forward.
Who knew plugging Thompson in as a small ball power forward would propel the Rockets on a lengthy winning streak that was snapped earlier this week. During that win streak, Thompson was like a Swiss army knife for Houston, someone you could deploy in a variety of ways on defense and an efficient scorer on offense that you can't just put your weakest defender on him. He's also a ridiculous rebounder, grabbing 15 and 14 boards in back-to-back games this week. In fact, he ranks fourth amongst rookies in rebounds, and the three guys ahead of him are all centers. Playing the 4 spot obviously isn't a permanent thing for Thompson or the Rockets because once Alperen Sengun comes back healthy either at the tail end of this season or next year, it will shift Thompson's position again. but it does make you wonder if Houston could get away with a frontcourt of Sengun and Thompson going forward.
