The race for the Rookie of the Year award this season is continuing to evolve. Two rookies are the strongest candidates, Victor Oladipo and Michael Carter-Williams. Nonetheless, judging from the respective performances of those two rookies, we can fairly say that Carter-Williams has the upper hand.
First of all, both players have found themselves playing in similar environments. Both the Philadelphia 76ers and the Orlando Magic are struggling this season, heading all the way towards the lottery picks this summer. Both of them are making their presence felt in their teams and they both seem to have star potential.
Nevertheless, Michael Carter-Williams is really making the difference. MCW is playing more like a true star than a rising one. He is leading all rookies in a bunch of stat categories, including points per game, with 17.4, assists, with 6.7, rebounds, with 5.6 and also steals, with 2.4. Just for a comparison, Dwyane Wade and Chris Paul were the last players to average at least 17 points per contest, six assists, five boards and two steals. Can you see the difference?
Even if Carter-Williams is not a true superstar, he is playing like he is. It’s not just about his numbers. The 22-year old point guard is proving that he is a true competitor every time he steps his foot on the court. Lots of people around the league compare him to lots of Hall of Famers or future Hall of Famers, like CP3, Wade, Oscar Robertson and Magic Johnson. There is a good reason for that.
Carter-Williams is included in a bunch of lists around rookie records, lists that include big-name players, legends that have passed from the courts of the NBA. It’s notable that MCW is the only player after Oscar Robertson and Alvan Adams to lead all rookies in scoring, rebounds and assists. He was also named Rookie of the month for October/November earlier in the season, becoming the only rookie since Allan Iverson to achieve that.
Despite the big performances Carter-Williams is putting up, the Philadelphia 76ers continue to struggle this season. Of course, that was expected, since the team is in a deep rebuilding process. Nonetheless, Philadelphia is really happy to see that it found the next face of the franchise for the seasons to come. And it did that without actually expecting it.
Michael Carter-Williams was the No.11 rookie in this past summer’s draft. The Philadelphia 76ers are still waiting for the No.6 draft pick, Nerlens Noel, to comeback from an injury. Noel was expected to be the first overall pick this summer but eventually fell to the sixth spot. He and Michael Carter-Williams are the two major pieces, the two main assets the 76ers have for the future.
One big question around Michael Carter-Williams might be what his ceiling is. He is already playing like a superstar and he is just three months into the league. What’s the future like for him? We will get to know as this season and the next ones progress.
Ron Leyba is the content manager of Fantasy Basketball Money Leagues – premier source of fantasy basketball updates, rankings and rumors. For more of his fantasy basketball updates, follow Fantasy Basketball Money Leagues Google+ account.