NBA 2024/25 Rookie Rankings: December

NBA 2024/25 Rookie Rankings: December

After a surprisingly hot start from this season’s batch of relatively unheralded rookie class, December saw the group begin to plateau. A long-term injury to November’s #1, Sixers sharpshooter Jared McCain, hasn’t helped matters.

Nevertheless, we’re still seeing some impressive performances from players who were not expected to contribute. Let’s see who has caught the eye through December.

These rankings are not reflective of the entire season to this point. Rather, they only take into account performances since our previous rookie rankings. All stats, unless otherwise stated, are courtesy of Basketball Reference.

1. Alexandre Sarr – Washington Wizards (Last ranking: 9)

Defensively, Sarr has been the standout rookie of his class from day one. The sheer numbers, 1.8 blocks and 0.8 steals this month – consistent with his numbers on the season – are very solid. He’s also playing unusually good positional defense for a first-year player. At that end of the court, there has been no let up from the second overall pick.

Where Sarr struggled and where he has improved significantly is on the other side of the ball. After shooting just 24% from three and 37% overall through the first six weeks of the season, Sarr has improved dramatically to shoot 47% from the floor and a startling 44% from deep (on almost five attempts per game) in December.

Whilst that long range shooting is clearly an outlier, Sarr is showing exactly why the Wizards were thrilled to grab him with pick two.

2. Yves Missi – New Orleans Pelicans (LR: 10)

It tells a story that Missi, a desperately raw prospect taken at pick 21, leads the Pelicans in games played, starts and minutes. It does beg the question of how much Missi’s production matters on by far the most disappointing team in the NBA, but New Orleans are after any silver linings they can find.

Missi continues to play an uncomplicated game. On offense, it’s screen hard, roll hard, dunk hard. On defense, block shots and rebound. That simplicity has surely helped Missi’s acclimatisation to the league.

Averaging a double/double through December, Missi played his best game to this point against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets with 21 points (9/12 FG), nine boards, three blocks and a pair of steals.

3. Jaylen Wells – Memphis Grizzlies (LR: 2)

Kudos to the Grizzlies scouting department. After finding GG Jackson in the second round in 2023, to come away with Wells the very next year is a testament to their work. Wells has started 27 of his 32 games this season. The entirety of the other second round draftees has made 15 between them.

Whilst his three-point shot remains streaky, he’s at the good end of the streaky spectrum, still connecting at a 39.1% rate, making 1.8 per game which is second amongst rookies behind the injured Jared McCain.

Defensively, Wells has proven a fine defender for a rookie. His ability to shadow smaller guards both on and off the ball has given Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins an option to mix and match his assignments, hiding Ja Morant when possible.

4. Stephon Castle – San Antonio Spurs (LR: 6)

Castle is an exercise in stats versus eye test.

His efficiency numbers are, frankly, awful. That backs up the biggest concern around Castle coming into the draft: shooting. In December, the fourth pick is shooting the ball at 36.2% and just 23.1% from beyond the arc. His personal Offensive rating is 89, which is…offensive.

Yet when you watch the Spurs play, you see a big guard with the skill level to beat his man off the dribble, the athleticism to finish through traffic, well developed playmaking and a sense of how to run an offense.

Defensively, Castle is already here. His size, speed and strength make him a nightmare to face when you have the basketball. And when you don’t, he is already one of the best in the NBA at screen navigation, as Stephen Curry found out.

5. Carlton Carrington – Washington Wizards (LR: 5)

Washington continues to force-feed Carrington minutes, the rook averaging over 33 per game in December, and the results continue to be encouraging. Carrington, with 3.8 assists per game (an even four in December), continues to lead all first-year players in assists, whilst averaging less that two turnovers.

Whilst his shooting numbers are not ideal (40/32/100 splits through December) Carrington is able to get to his spots seemingly at will. If/when those shots start falling, Carrington has all the makings of a solid scoring guard or a playmaking third guard.

Carrington’s issue remains a complete lack of defense. At 6’4”, he sports reasonable size, but he may as well be made of smoke, such is his lack of resistance at that end.  

6. Tristan da Silva – Orlando Magic (LR: New entry)

The latest of Orlando’s Germanic contingent, da Silva was unlucky to miss out on a spot in the top 10 in the November rankings. The 23-year-old has taken the increased opportunities that have come with practically every other Orlando front court player – including his fellow Germans – sitting in a casualty ward.

Da Silva has thrived since Franz Wagner went down with an oblique injury, averaging 13.8 points on 50/37/100 shooting splits, as the Magic search for any source of offense that they can get their mitts on.

Still very one dimensional, da Silva isn’t contributing on defense or as a playmaker. If his shot continues to fall at a reasonable clip, he’ll find himself in the rotation even once both of Orlando’s All-Star level forwards are available.

7. Zaccharie Risacher – Atlanta Hawks (LR: 7)

Steady as she goes for the #1 pick.

Risacher’s shooting comes and goes – in December it has mostly gone – but he does display a rare patience for a rookie, at both ends of the court. Defensively, he rarely overreacts to a jab step or off-ball actions; rather, he simply waits to see what develops then makes his move.

It’s the same at the other end of the floor. Risacher, knowing that he has an elite set-up man in Trae Young and other capable offensive weapons around him, doesn’t feel the need to force the action. He simply moves to where he should move to and takes what the defense gives him. He’s an accumulator of points at this stage.

He’s never likely to be a star in the traditional sense, but the cerebral play of the Frenchman is rare for a rookie.

8. Zach Edey – Memphis Grizzlies (LR: 4)

Edey’s sheer size makes his impact around the rim undeniable. His eight boards a game rank behind only Missi and his 1.2 blocks are augmented by the number of shots he alters or outright deters. Interestingly, Edey is also fourth amongst rookies in steals per game, showing quick hands and a willingness to impact passing lanes.

Edey’s offensive game has been inconsistent, though his best is very good, including a 21-point, 16 boards (nine offensive) effort against Toronto.

If he had played more than six December games at the time of writing, he would have been higher on this month’s Rookie Rankings.

9. Ja’Kobe Walter – Toronto Raptors (LR: New entry)

Toronto chose to let the 19th pick develop in the G-League through the first five weeks of the season, making only four appearances with the big club. Since returning to the Raptors, he’s established himself as a rotation piece.

Through December, Walter is averaging almost 23 minutes of court time and providing 11.2 points in those minutes. He has seemingly taken a liking to the Knicks defense, with games on 19 and 16 points against them. His best game so far, though, was a 27-point effort, including six treys, against the Rockets.

One of four Raptors rookies making waves, Walter has the highest upside.

10. Ryan Dunn – Phoenix Suns (LR: 8)

Dunn’s hot shooting start is merely a memory, as all of his those well publicised shooting concerns heading into the draft have come to the fore. That said, the rookie continues to earn minutes thanks to his outstanding defense.

Averaging close to a steal and a block per game this month in only 18 minutes, Dunn’s doggedness on the ball takes so much pressure away from the remainder of the Suns wing rotation who, Royce O’Neal aside, are either lesser defenders or offensively focused.

We might be saying this for a while, but if Dunn’s shot ever comes around, he’s got a long and productive career ahead of him.

Dropping out: Jared McCain (1), Dalton Knecht (3)