Draft Digest Rookies of the Week: Pair of Explosive Wings Make Progress

Who were the most impressive rookies across the NBA over the past week?

Each week, the Draft Digest team picks an NBA rookie from each conference as the best player of the week.

For many players, it takes getting an opportunity to really showcase talent in year one. That's been the case for several rookies this season, who spent time in the G League early in the 2023-24 campaign but have more recently earned NBA minutes. Furthermore, some rookies played well on one side of the ball early in the season at the NBA level, but are now starting to figure out the other end of the floor to put together a well-rounded skillset.

Who brought home the hardware this week?

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Eastern Conference 

Bilal Coulibaly (Washington Wizards)

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Stats Since Last Week: 3 GP | 13.3 PPG | 4.0 RPG | 1.3 SPG | 44.4% 3PT

This time last year, Coulibaly wasn't even a bonafide first-round prospect yet. From there, he went on to prove his upside was tremendous and landed No. 7 overall in the 2023 NBA Draft. While his offensive game needed to be polished, there was a sense he could impact the game defensively from day one. 

That's proven true, as Coulibaly leverages his length and lateral quickness to defend nearly every position on the floor. His defensive production is further validated by his 78 DSI rating at Cerebro Sports, which is an all-in-one metric that measures defensive impact. Not only has his defense been phenomenal, but over the past week he's also shown flashes of being an offensive contributor, especially from beyond the arc. 

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Western Conference 

Cam Whitmore (Houston Rockets)

Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Stats Since Last Week: 4 GP | 20.0 PPG | 6.5 RPG | 3.0 BPG | 36.4% 3PT

While the Rockets used their top-five pick in the 2023 NBA Draft on Amen Thompson, there's no doubt Cam Whitmore has been the best rookie in Houston thus far. That's not to say Thompson hasn't been solid, because he has, but Whitmore has been a legitimate scoring threat off the bench and has elevated the overall offense over the past few weeks. 

Whitmore shoots it with confidence and never turns down a good look. Although his assist numbers are extremely low, he is playing his role as a reserve spark plug scorer, so that could be a function of what he's being asked to do. In any case, he's been one of the best rookies in the NBA of late. 

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