Surprise! I’m back with the 6th edition of Ankit’s Cool OKC Newsletter just a few days after the 5th came out. I can’t say I’ll make publishing this quickly a habit, but with the end of the season coming up - I have a lot to say!
The Thunder have surpassed nearly every expectation of theirs this season, and the 12th pick of the draft, Jalen Williams, has played an enormous part of that. However, Jalen Williams hasn’t been the only impressive rookie this season. Paolo Banchero has burst onto the scene and made his name known, so it begs the question: who is the Rookie of the Year?
Paolo Banchero
Paolo Banchero was the #1 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, and everything that he has done this season has reinforced the fact that he was completely deserving of it. By the numbers, Paolo has been nothing short of incredible averaging 20 ppg, 7rpg and 3.5 apg on 42/29/75 shooting splits while playing in 70 games (and counting!). On top of his incredible individual performance, he has helped lead the Orlando Magic out of the depths of the standings last season where they won 22 wins to a very respectable 33-44 record. The Magic should have expected some improvement in their record due to the growth of players like Franz Wagner and the return of Markelle Fultz. Nonetheless, an 11 game jump is incredibly impressive, and Banchero has played a key part in that jump. Everything about Banchero’s season proves why he has been in the ROTY conversation all season.
A New Challenger Appears
Similar to his late surge up big boards in the draft process, Oklahoma City’s Jalen Williams is making a similar late season surge in the ROTY race. After breaking his face in literally the first game of the season, JDub had a fairly pedestrian start to the season. Of course, he is just a rookie and should be given space to grow, but in order to win ROTY you have to make a bit of a splash.
Like most things related to the Thunder this year, things really turned around for JDub in the new year. Since January 1st, he has averaged 16 ppg, 5 rpg and 4 apg on a ludicrous 52/39/83 shooting splits over 40 games. On top of that, Williams has established himself as a legitimate defensive star. Jalen Williams has the 10th most steals (99) in the league this season and leads the league since January 1st (78). He is regularly tasked with guarding the opposing team’s best and regularly comes up with key stops.
This would all be great but the icing on the cake for JDub’s rookie season is, he also helps the Thunder win games. OKC has jumped from 24 to 38 wins this season and are fighting for a spot in the Play In Tournament. Williams has established himself as a key part of the Thunder’s (starting) rotation alongside Shai, Giddey, and Dort and is a big part of the Thunder’s meteoric rise to post-season contention.
So Who Is It?
As we all know, this is a newsletter that is based around my love for the OKC Thunder and so it does pain me to say that despite how awesome Jalen Williams has been this season - Paolo Banchero is deserving of the ROTY this season. We can splice the stats any which way to make either Williams or Banchero look better than the other - but the big differentiator for me is the role that they play on their team. JDub no doubt, plays a big role on the Thunder but with the emergence of SGA as a bonafide superstar - Williams has been OKC’s #2 (and sometimes #3) option on offense. Paolo has been the clear cut #1 option on the Orlando Magic this season. This responsibility includes not only having the offense run through you, but also having to deal with the added attention that opposing defense pays to shutting down your game. Part of why superstars are superstars is that they make the game easier for their teammates. Banchero doesn’t have the luxury of playing alongside a player like Shai (as much as I like Franz and Fultz) unlike JDub. This is the biggest reason why I think Paolo Banchero is the ROTY, and honestly the only reason I think that’s needed.
Conclusion
I was a little skeptical about this draft class coming into the season, but I’ve since changed my opinion and think this is a surprisingly good draft class. This is headlined by Paolo Banchero who should be the 2022-2023 Rookie of the Year. Despite, the Thunder’s #2 draft pick, Chet Holmgren, missing the entire season - it is crazy that they still had the second best rookie of this class in Jalen Williams. The Orlando Magic and Oklahoma City Thunder have two incredibly bright futures and will be back in the playoff hunt sooner than later.
If you have any thoughts about anything I wrote, feel free to reach out on Twitter @ankitpancakes!
Helpful Links
Some of you noticed that I totally forgot to leave references to helpful links in my last issue. Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten this time but leave me alone about formatting