NBA Rookie Rankings: Keegan Murray Drops Career High Against Thunder; Jeremy Sochan develops a 3-point shot

We’ve heard about the “rookie wall” and how it can sneak up on players mid-season and take a nosedive in its production, efficiency, and impact. But what if the opposite happens? Maybe we call it the “rookie ladder” or the “rookie juggernaut,” like the superhero from X-Men whose biggest scene was literally just breaking through a few walls. Maybe this picture will jog your memory:

The name probably needs a tweak, but I’ll try to emphasize that right now there are a lot of newbies breaking through that rookie wall and putting in some of their best performances. Keegan Murray is arguably the best example right now, a guy having the best month of his young career while also being a positive influence on a successful team. Walker Kessler is another rookie that springs to mind who might not be putting up monster numbers but stars in his role for the Jazz while also being the league’s top rookie defenseman. You can also add to this list AJ Griffin, who shoots over 50 percent from the field and 3-point territory. All three of these guys exemplify rookie rookies who managed to climb over them or charge them head-on rather than hitting the rookie wall and thereby had some of the biggest positive impacts on their teams.

Now it’s time to break down this week’s rookie rankings. Keep in mind that these leaderboards only reflect a rookie’s weekly performance, not the overall season. These are not rookie of the year ratings, but rather a reflection of the player’s performance over the past week.

Murray will be one of the best players from this draft. He didn’t get as much attention as some of the other top picks, but in terms of monthly growth, there wasn’t a more impressive rookie. In January alone, he averages 14.5 points while shooting 52.8 percent from the field and 51.8 percent from deep. He’s rebounding the ball more aggressively than he did earlier in the season and looking for his shot more as he grows into his role as a complement to the Kings’ suddenly powerful offense.

This week Murray scored a career-high 29 points in a win over The Thunder, which he took just 12 shots to get there and missed just two of them. He also finished with 14 boards to help the Kings win their sixth straight game. Murray’s better off-ball movement added new levels to Sacramento’s offense, and his two-man game with Domantas Sabonis flourished.

Murray benefits from the defensive attention Sabonis is drawing and as a result he gets a lot of open looks and knocks them down.

There aren’t many positives the Pistons can take away from their 150-130 loss to the Bucks because if you’re going to let a team drop that many points on you, you should just forget about it. But Duren’s finish around the rim was certainly a point for the Pistons to celebrate. Duren is a physical and athletic big man who can play over the edge but also has some finesse in his post moves. All of this was shown to full advantage against the Bucks, even if the game was already in hand for Milwaukee for much of the contest.

His chemistry with the guards is improving, he has good hands when it comes to getting the ball under the basket and he always finishes well even when the defense is draped on him.

Duren always breaks the glass on offense, and catching a rebound almost always results in something like this:

The Pistons have found their big man for the future and I can only imagine how impactful he will be when Cade Cunningham returns next season.

After a short-term stint on the starting lineup last week, Mathurin returned to a bench role and almost single-handedly helped the Pacers come back from a 21-point deficit to shock the Bulls. Mathurin ended that game with 26 points, 15 of which came in the fourth quarter to help his team stage a comeback. He went off the floor 6-of-7, with each shot being harder than the last.

Mathurin lived in the paint against Chicago, stunning every Bulls defender in front of him after every bucket. For the month of January, Mathurin makes 54.7 percent of his shots within five feet of the rim, his highest mark of the season since October. It shows that after a few months of low efficiency, the rookie is able to recover and help his team win.

Please tick the opt-in box to confirm that you wish to opt-in.

Thanks for registering!

Keep an eye on your inbox.

We’re sorry!

There was an error processing your subscription.

Despite another solid week from Banchero, the highlight for the Magic centered on the return of Jonathan Isaac, who had been sidelined since 2020 with a cruciate ligament tear. He returned to the NBA after a long rehab process when Orlando took on the Celtics and made this sweet highlight with Banchero in the third quarter of that game:

Hear the bang of that crowd as Banchero finishes that dunk with a steal and assist from Issac. This one-on-one game holds a lot of potential for this Orlando team going forward. It’s too early on Issac’s return to make any big statements, but just imagining the lineups the Magic can throw out there that feature so much height and versatility is a scary thought. Between Banchero, Issac, Franz Wagner, Wendell Carter Jr. and Bol Bol, Orlando has a bright, big future ahead.

We’re starting to see Sochan just knocking down 3s with some regularity, as shown this week in three straight games where he knocked down two 3s. For a lad who’s shot 29.6 percent from deep in his only season at Baylor, that’s a significant improvement, and something we’ll likely see more of from him. If Sochan can develop that 3-point shot into a consistent weapon, he’ll be a dangerous 3-and-D player in this league. He’s already proven his defensive skills against some of the league’s best, and with a little finesse he could become all-defensive teams down the road.