The Detroit Pistons have consistently had two rookies on the KIA Rookie Ladder this season, the only team to have more than one player in the top ten.
If you are not familiar, the Rookie Ladder is the NBA’s weekly ranking of rookies. Jaden Ivey has been as high as second this season, and Jalen Duren rocketed up to 6th last week.
But both took a slide this week, as Ivey dropped to 4th after a cold week shooting, and Duren fell to 7th even though he’s been thriving as a starter and is averaging more rebounds (9.3) and assists (2.8) than his season averages.
Ivey switched spots with Keegan Murray (who was buoyed by being the Western Conference rookie of the month) and Duren flip-flopped with Jalen Williams of the OKC Thunder, who has averaged 17.7 points over the last week.
I expect both of them to regain these spots or go even higher as the season progresses, as Ivey’s shot selection is improving, and Duren just keeps dropping double doubles.
So while the Pistons’ rookies were sliding on the Rookie Ladder, their veteran was getting overlooked by fans for All-Star consideration.
Detroit Pistons: Bojan Bogdanovic getting no All-Star love from fans
The first results of fan voting for the NBA All-Star game are in and Bojan Bogdanovic’s name was nowhere to be found.
It’s not surprising, as Bogdanovic is hardly a household name, the Eastern Conference is absolutely stacked with front court talent and the Detroit Pistons are one of the worst teams in the league.
LeBron James and Kevin Durant lead their respective conferences in the first fan returns of #NBAAllStar Voting presented by AT&T.
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) January 5, 2023
Fans account for 50% of the vote to decide All-Star starters. NBA players and a media panel account for 25% each.
The next fan update is Jan. 12. pic.twitter.com/osVeUGI8H4
But Bogs is scoring 21 points per game (7th among either small or power forwards) and is just shy of the 50/40/90 club for the season, so has a chance to make history as a shooter.
However, he’s also on the second-worst team in the Eastern Conference, so fans are not likely to reward him for putting up big numbers on a bad team.
The fans only account for half of the voting process, so it will be interesting to see if the players and media give Bogdanovic some love, as he has never been an All-Star, is having his best season as a professional and is widely respected around the league.