Karl-Anthony Towns of the Timberwolves is vulnerable to be dethroned as Rookie of the Month in the Western Conference, after averaging 17.3 points and shooting 45.4 percent so far in April, an offensive slump (by his standards) offset by big production in rebounds and blocks.
That’s what it has come down to with Towns and award drama. To the secondary debates, whether he can become the first newcomer since Damian Lillard in 2012-13 to win Rookie of the Month every month and whether he will be a unanimous selection as Kia Rookie of the Year.
The primary debate disappeared long ago, since about midseason, when New York’s Kristaps Porzingis went from being just off Towns’ shoulder to getting lapped — along with the rest of the field. Towns has so clearly separated himself that it is impossible to justify voting for anyone else. That was the case heading into April and nothing changed in the final couple weeks as his season-long numbers moved to 18.2 points, 10.4 rebounds, 1.7 blocks and 54.0 percent shooting and 33.7 percent on 3-pointers.
That he became this good is not a surprise — the 7-footer from Kentucky clearly had the most upside in the 2015 Draft http://www.nba.com/draft/2015/, with the versatile offensive game and potential defensive impact that made him an easy choice to go No. 1 overall. That he became this good this season, that’s the surprise.
The same general managers who predicted Towns would eventually be the best player in the class didn’t tab him as the best rookie, opting for Jahlil Okafor of the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA.com GM survey.
All Towns did was put together a 2015-16 with the kind of consistency most veterans can’t touch. That instant dependability has been as impressive as any of the shiny numbers, even though he is eighth in the league in rebounding and 10th in blocks. He had a promising start, flexed for a few months in the middle to turn the race into a runaway, and has spent a lot of the finish controlling the inside.
It is impossible to remember two slow weeks in a row, even though the initial steps into the NBA came as the Timberwolves mourned the passing of coach Flip Saunders and even while having to fit in alongside reigning Kia Rookie of the Year winner (and teammate) Andrew Wiggins. Towns made the transition look unexpectedly easy and by the end was no secondary option to Wiggins. He handled the opponents, the long-term expectations, the instant spotlight as a No. 1 pick and, most of all, the rest of the first-year class.
The entire Rookie Ladder, for one last time in 2015-16:
1. Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves
Last week’s ranking: No. 1
Put it this way: The nine rebounds Saturday at Portland was an off night on the boards, but maybe the Timberwolves will give him a pass because Towns also had 27 points and the game-winning basket. He is averaging 11.0 rebounds in his last 10 games and has multiple blocks in three of the last five outings to hold the spot in the top 10 there. The latest accomplishment was being named Westeren Conference Player of the Week, the first rookie to win that in either conference since Michael Carter-Williams in 2013-14.
2. Kristaps Porzingis, New York Knicks
Last week’s ranking: No. 2
Even the shoulder injury that cost him the end of the season could not erase the good that had come before. His prior solid months of defense will probably result in him finishing eighth in the league in blocks while his man shot worse against Porzingis than against the rest of the league. The Knicks have to decide whether he will play Summer League again and Porzingis has to decide whether to play for the Latvian national team, but getting stronger is the offseason priority either way.
3. Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets
Last week’s ranking: No. 3
Some players grab an opportunity. Jokic strangled his. Given an immediate chance for a large role at center as Jusuf Nurkic missed the first 33 games recovering from knee surgery, Jokic went from No. 41 pick in 2014 to an immediate impact player. Among rookies, he is fourth in rebounds, fifth in shooting, seventh in blocks, eighth in scoring and even sixth in assists, tops among non-guards. Not merely one of the unexpected success stories of the class, he is one of the best of the class.
4. Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns
Last week’s ranking: No. 5
He is the fourth-youngest player ever to score 1,000 points, behind some guys named LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant. That would be an accomplishment no matter what, but is especially noteworthy since Booker did not average 20 minutes a game in a month until January. His finish: 17.3 points in January, 13.5 in February, 22.4 in March and 19.2 in April, putting him at 13.8 heading into the finale, fourth best in the class. He is also second in free-throw percentage, sixth in assists and ninth in 3-point shooting.
5. Justise Winslow, Miami Heat
Last week’s ranking: No. 4
No rookie averaged more fourth-quarter minutes, a particularly telling statement on a playoff team in win-now mode and in no mood to hand over experience as an investment. Winslow was that dependable that soon while logging 9.1 minutes in the final period and 28.6 overall. He defended both forward spots, and even at 6?foot-7 and at 19 years old showed he could have a long future at power forward in small-ball alignments. He also rebounded well at times. While the offense very much remains a work in progress, his range got better late in the season.
6. Jahlil Okafor, Philadelphia 76ers
Last week’s ranking: No. 6
Okafor was as expected: able to score right away against adults in what would have been his sophomore year of college, a low-post threat, able to be exploited on defense and, for his off-court issues, 19/20 years old. He spent much of the season third on The Ladder, behind Towns and Porzingis. If he had stayed relatively healthy and continued around the same level, Okafor probably either holds that spot or drops one while finishing second in scoring, third in rebounding, fourth in blocks and eighth in shooting. Being sidelined since late-February by a knee injury was a lot of lost time.
7. D’Angelo Russell, Los Angeles Lakers
Last week’s ranking: No. 7
No rookie had such a — how shall we put this? — varied season. Russell was at times very good as a distributor and shooter, showing why the Lakers made the right move in picking him over Okafor at No. 2. At other times, he looked — on both sides of the ball — every bit the prospect who would have been a college sophomore. Still, he was fifth in the class in scoring, fourth in assists, eighth in 3-point percentage, second in steals and sixth in minutes.
8. Myles Turner, Indiana Pacers
Last week’s ranking: No. 8
The recent move back to the bench, after starting 29 of 30 games at power forward, produced immediate results. Turner went from 40.6 percent shooting in March to 57.5 percent so far in April while rebounding at a higher rate. The chance to challenge for the top 10 in the league in blocks, a possibility in February, disappeared, but Turner will finish third among rookies in a good class of bigs who defend, and is also fifth in rebounding, seventh in scoring and eighth in shooting. He could get votes for first-team All-Rookie.
9. Josh Richardson, Miami Heat
Last week’s ranking: No. 9
Richardson would be top five for sure (and probably even top three) if these rankings were based on the second half of the season. His furious play during that stretch moved him from the end of the Heat bench (and the NBA D-League) into the rotation as he averaged 29.1 minutes in March and is at 32.1 so far in April. He is shooting 51.7 percent overall since the All-Star break and 55.8 percent on 3-pointers (on 3.1 attempts per game). That is part of coasting to the rookie 3-point title, at 48.2 percent far ahead of second-place Raul Neto of the Jazz at 40.0.
10. Trey Lyles, Utah Jazz
Last week’s ranking: No. 10
Lyles has been so steady and dependable for months that there is a case to be made to be ranked higher. A slow start hurts the argument, much like Richardson, but Lyles stepped up when Jazz injuries forced him into the opening lineup and has produced in a big way down the stretch as a positive, not a rookie that needs to be hidden, as Utah fights for the playoffs. He is shooting a combined 38.7 behind the arc in January, February, March and April, a good return for a rookie, to move into third place in the class.
Dropped out: None.
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Editor’s note: As the 2015-16 season winds down, NBA.com’s writers give their picks for the various end-of-season awards.
Below is our schedule of stories:
April 5: Executive of the Year
April 7: Coach of the Year
April 11: Kia Most Improved Player
April 12: Kia Sixth Man of the Year
April 13: Kia Rookie of the Year
April 14: Kia Defensive Player of the Year
April 15: Kia MVP
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Scott Howard-Cooper has covered the NBA since 1988. You can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter.
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