Best of YB: Broken 'Process' opens Rookie of the Year race
Leading up to the NBA All-Star Game, the 2016-17 Rookie of the Year race was a one-man show. After two seasons of riding the pine while recovery from injury, Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid proved worth the wait — and proved no rookie this season could touch him, averaging 20.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 2.1 assists a game in just 25.4 minutes a night, even showcasing three-point range and a soft touch at the line.
Then, Embiid got injured again despite a minutes restriction, and shortly after the Sixers announced 2016 top overall pick Ben Simmons would not play this season, Embiid was shut down as well, having played just 31 games and 786 minutes. No one has ever taken home ROY playing so few games and so few minutes. This begs the obvious question: With Joel Embiid out, who should win Rookie of the Year? "Hield is probably the biggest wild card, Saric seems like the safest bet at the moment while Brogdon has been the most consistent of the three all season long. None of them are Embiid, but the award has to go to someone, even if it doesn’t go to the best rookie of the 2016-17 season."
It's a shame that Embiid is finished until next season, particularly given that his PER numbers were up there with some of the greatest centers to ever play. However, not even Embiid's obscene rookie season averages can match the type of numbers another Philadelphia center did, and with this week marking the 55th anniversary of Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game vs. the New York Knicks in Hershey, Penn., it's as good a time as any to take the ‘just a reminder that Wilt Chamberlain put up utterly absurd numbers' quiz.
Obviously, it's disappointing for NBA fans that someone as talented and fun as Embiid was unable to do his best to continue put up absurd numbers in his own right, and Sixers fans aren't the only ones facing disappointment. The Warriors lost Kevin Durant to injury, and then they went and lost two games in a row, with Stephen Curry having particularly disappointing games.
Conversely, there have been some great surprises, such as Isaiah Thomas and the Boston Celtics and Bradley Beal's play for the Washington Wizards. Who else is among the biggest surprises and disappointments of the NBA season so far?
As far as the biggest surprises are concerned, perhaps none stand out more than Lou Williams, who was the Los Angeles Lakers' leading scorer despite coming off the bench before he was traded to the Houston Rockets. It was a savvy move by Rockets GM Daryl Morey, who went on to burn up the phone lines of the NBA Referee Hotline Bling: "After consulting with the NBA’s own fire marshal as well as officials in Houston, we regret to inform you that your recent acquisition of Lou Williams constitutes a fire hazard. Mr. Williams simply gets too hot for it to remain safe."
Finally, we leave you with the 'Simone Biles vs. Mr. T dance-off you didn't know you wanted until now' quiz. While that has nothing to do with the Rookie of the Year, Wilt or the NBA, one former NBA player did compete in “Dancing with the Stars” like Biles and Mr. T will this upcoming season. Can you name him?
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