Who is Leading NBA’s Rookie of the Year Race?

Sandwiched between two truly talented drafts harboring No. 1 talents in Victor Wembanyama and Cooper Flagg, the 2024 NBA Draft has somewhat fallen under the radar. And with it, it’s Rookie of the Year race.

The ’24 draft was talented and deep, but didn’t own the same star punch that those before it did. Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher was selected No. 1 overall, but was more of a project selection than many were led to believe. The same could be said for Alex Sarr, who ranked No. 1 amongst experts for most of the cycle, and even the picks following were made up of talented youngsters who were drafted to be impactful down the line.

It begs the question: who’s actually leading the Rookie of the Year race presently?

As it stands now, with a month and a half of play remaining, it’s a four-man race.

Spurs guard Stephon Castle leads the pack at the moment, owning both the necessary stats and narrative as we cruise towards the end of the season. Drafted fourth overall, Castle has flanked Wembanyama all season long, and its worked out in the form of 12.6 points on 41% shooting, with 3.4 assists and 3.0 rebounds. He’d be NBA Draft on SI’s odds on favorite to take home the hardware as it stands now, averaging the most points among the rookies and having the popularity too. 

Grizzlies wing Jaylen Wells would be next up as likely the biggest surprise from the draft in general. He was picked No. 39 overall, and has been one of the most successful newbies in the entire league. He’s started a majority of his games in Memphis, pouring on 11.4 points on 45% shooting with solid defense for the No. 2 team in the West.

Those two have someone separated themselves with worthy seasons. But the No. 1 and 2 picks in Risacher and Sarr have at least kept themselves in striking distance.

Sarr has scored 11.7 points per game with a perfectly solid 1.6 blocks per game in anchoring the Wizards, but has done so on just 39% shooting, a bad mark for a wing-like big. 

The formerly mentioned Risacher has scored 11.4 points on 43% shooting — seemingly well ahead of schedule as a prospect — but not quite in the same ballpark as the leaders of the pack.

Sarr and Risacher rank No. 3 and 4, but with a hot streak down the stretch could certainly vie for the award.

For now, we’ll continue to monitor the league’s newest crop as the season winds down.