Each week, the Draft Digest team picks an NBA rookie from each conference as the best player of the week.
In the final few games of the regular season, several rookies got more of an opportunity to take the court as teams rested their primary players. This happens every year, which allows many second round and undrafted rookies to shine and carry momentum into year two.
That’s exactly what happened this week, as we got to see several rookies take their game to a new level.
Who brought home the hardware this week?
Eastern Conference
Bryce McGowens (Charlotte Hornets)
Stats Since Last Week: 2 GP | 19.0 PPG| 4.5 RPG | 3.0 APG | 7.0 FTA
An advanced scorer with good size on the wing, McGowens has emerged as a key piece of the Hornets roster late in the season. He capped off his rookie season with a 22-point performance on an efficient 6-of-11 shooting.
The second-round pick has also shown recently that he can do more than just score. He produced six assists in the final two games of the 2022-23 campaign to go along with three steals.
Western Conference
Kenneth Lofton Jr. (Memphis Grizzlies)
Stats Since Last Week: 2 GP | 22.5 PPG| 7.5 RPG | 6.0 FTA | 69.2% FG
The G League Rookie of the Year, Lofton is a highly productive player early in his career. In 30 games with the Memphis Hustle, he notched a 7.8 C-RAM according to Cerebro Sports, bolstered by a 90 PSP and 82 ATR.
Lofton’s fantastic showing in the G League earned him a full-time NBA deal worth $7 million over four years last week. In the final game of the regular season with the Grizzlies, he scored 42 points and pulled down 14 rebounds against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
More must-reads: