Three-Player Race for NBA Rookie of the Year Heating Up Entering December

Paolo Banchero, Bennedict Mathurin and Jaden Ivey are leading what is sure to be a fiery 2022 NBA Rookie of the Year race.

It would be foolish to say the 2022-2023 NBA Rookie of the Year race is solely down to three at the first of December but make no mistake, right now, three names stand above the rest.

Paolo Banchero, Bennedict Mathurin and Jaden Ivey are currently standing out above the pack through a month and a half of the season.

They rank one, two and three in scoring, with solely Banchero averaging over 20 points per game.

Mathurin comes in just under that mark, but is leading the entire NBA in bench scoring, almost three more points per game than Christian Wood and Norman Powell, and might have a legit case for Sixth Man of the Year as well.

Jaden Ivey is over six points behind Banchero and three behind Mathurin but is still at an impressive 16 per game which is good for 3rd on the Detroit Pistons.

The three headed monster is not quite as dominant in terms of rebounding but they are all still in the top nine of the rookie rankings. Banchero is third, at 6.8 per game, and Mathurin is ninth, at 4.0 per game.

Even at 6-foot-4, Jaden Ivey is pulling down almost five rebounds per game which is good for fifth.

Ivey and Banchero again rise to the top when looking at rookies creating for their teammates. Ivey’s passing has been better than advertised early in his career as he is averaging just over four assists per game for a team 29th in field goal percentage and 24th in 3-point percentage.

Banchero’s ability to pass and create was much more advertised coming out of Duke and he has not disappointed as he is averaging 3.6 assists per game, good for 2nd behind Ivey.

This is the area where Ivey and Banchero definitely have a leg up on Mathurin. The Arizona product is averaging only 1.5 assists per game and his FGS (floor general skills) per cerebro.com is the only one below 60, coming in at a score of 53.

Speaking of Cerebro metrics, guess who lands in their top three rookies in overall C-Ram? Banchero (7.2), Mathurin (6.3) and Ivey (6.1). Banchero is the only one of the three who has a bronze score, meaning he is performing above average compared to his NBA peers.

Ivey and Banchero are also the only two rookies with at least 10 games played and 10 minutes per game to score 60 or better in all five the cerebro.com metrics which speaks to both of their all around abilities. Mathurin would join them as the third member if not for his low score as a floor general.

These three rookies are also carrying the biggest offensive loads for their teams of any rookies in the NBA. Tari Eason is the only other rookie with a usage percentage of at least 20 but is still below that of Ivey (24%), Mathurin (26%) and Banchero (29%).

There are still plenty of games left for other first year players to get in the Rookie of the Year mix but as things stand right now, these three seem to be the cream of the crop.

Stats/Metrics from Dec. 1

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