Andrew Wiggins was selected with the number one overall pick in this summer’s draft, due to a combination of incredible athletic ability and his equally strong upside potential.
But most believe that Jabari Parker, taken by the Bucks with the second pick, is the player most likely to be NBA-ready, and able to make an immediate impact in his very first professional season.
Those high on Parker extend to this year’s incoming rookie class, who were surveyed at the league’s rookie photo shoot this past weekend. And overwhelmingly, they believe that Parker has the tools to be the best of the bunch.
From John Schuhmann of NBA.com:Who will be the 2014-15 Rookie of the Year?
1. Jabari Parker, Milwaukee -- 52.8 percent
T-2: Doug McDermott, Chicago -- 8.3 percent
Andrew Wiggins, Cleveland -- 8.3 percent
T-4: Shabazz Napier, Miami -- 5.6 percent
Nerlens Noel, Philadelphia -- 5.6 percent
Elfrid Payton, Orlando -- 5.6 percent
As noted in the piece, Nerlens Noel is technically eligible for Rookie of the Year honors, and is considered the favorite to take home the award after sitting out all of last season. But the majority of rookies surveyed obviously weren’t considering that when casting their votes.
Parker also won in a landslide when rookies were asked who in their class would end up having the best career; he took home 45.9 percent of the votes in response to that question.
One other point of interest in the survey was when the question of “who is your favorite player in the league” was asked. Kevin Durant finished with 25 percent of the votes, followed by Kobe Bryant (19.4 percent) and LeBron James (12.5). But one vote came in for Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, which was a bit of a head-scratcher.
I mean, it’s just so difficult to imagine who possibly could have cast it.
