Two things have been consistent for the Detroit Pistons over the last week: They keep losing games and Ausar Thompson continues to impress.
Even in a recent loss, Thompson joined an elite group of rookies statistically that includes Kevin Garnett and Ralph Sampson.
He’s at or near the top of just about every rookie statistic, unfortunately, his team is losing, which is one of the reasons he dropped from last week’s Rookie power rankings.
There have been some huge performances over the last week and the top of the rankings may have already settled where they are going to be at the end of the season.
NBA Rookie power rankings
#5: Jordan Hawkins
Hawkins is a new addition to the top five after having a couple of big games this week, including a 31-point, seven-rebound, three-assist effort against the Nuggets in which he hit 7-of-14 from long range. Hawkins has been thrust into a bigger role because of injuries, as the Pelicans are one of the few teams in the league with as many key injuries as the Deroit Pistons. He’s averaging 12.5 points (good for 4th among rookies) to go along with four rebounds per game while shooting 36.4 percent from long range, which is where he gets most of his shots. The shooting splits aren’t great, but he is launching more than seven per game from 3-point range. Hawkins is a big reason the Pelicans are off to a 4-3 start even though most of their key players are out.
NBA Rookie power rankings: Ausar Thompson takes a slight dip
#4: Brandon Miller
Miller dropped a spot after a mediocre week which saw his numbers slide to 13.2 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Like most rookies on bad teams, Miller is struggling with efficiency, hitting just 30 percent of his 3-point shots. This is where you could make a case for a player like Cason Wallace or Marcus Sasser to be on the list, as they are playing fewer minutes and lesser roles than Miller, but doing it efficiently and in Wallace’s case, on a winning team. This is the oldest argument in the Rookie of the Year race, as the top guys almost all go to bad teams, so should they be punished for being forced into huge roles right away? I say no.
#3: Ausar Thompson
Thompson had a very good week, so his drop is more about the other players than him, as he is currently 5th in points per game, 1st in rebounding, 2nd in assists, 3rd in blocks, 1st in steals and 3rd in efficiency among rookies.
You could make a strong argument that he has been an All-Defensive player through the first eight games of the season and the only thing holding him back from being atop this list is that he is still shooting just 40 percent from the field (though that number is going up) and 17 percent from long range.
NBA Rookie power rankings
#2: Chet Holmgren
Like Thompson, Holmgren is at or near the top of pretty much every category for rookies, but unlike Thompson, is doing it on a winning team while shooting the lights out.
Holmgren is averaging 17 points and eight rebounds on insane shooting splits of 55/53/90, while adding 2.7 assists and 2.4 blocks per game. We knew Holmgren was a beast around the rim on both ends, but I didn’t expect his 3-point shooting to be this good this early in his career.
In a game dominated by 3-point shots, dunks and rim protection, Holmgren is arguably one of the best players in the league to build a team around.
#1: Victor Wembanyama
Ok, so we knew it wouldn’t be long before Wembanyama was atop this list, though you could make an argument for Holmgren based on efficiency. Wemby went off this week for 38 points and 10 rebounds against the Suns, wowing Kevin Durant in the process and looking like he might already deserve a spot on the All-NBA team just a few games into his career. Even when his shot isn’t falling, he’s a game-changer on defense, racking up nine blocks in the last three games. His shooting splits aren’t as impressive as Holmgren’s but he is taking five more shots per game and carrying much more of the offensive load for his young team.
It’s hard to imagine anyone displacing Wembanyama from this spot in the power rankings unless his coach holds him out or he gets hurt.