The 2018 NBA Draft was praised for depth more than star power. While last year's rookie class featured stunning season-long performances from Ben Simmons, Donovan Mitchell and Jayson Tatum, plus the hype around Markelle Fultz, Lonzo Ball and De'Aaron Fox, this year's draft class was known for being deep into the second round.
But the stars at the top are showing up, too. No. 1 Deandre Ayton, No. 2 Marvin Bagley III, No. 3 Luka Doncic, No. 4 Jaren Jackson Jr., and No. 5 Trae Young have come out the gate hot and opened the door for a strong Rookie of the Year race again this season.
Since we've gotten to see them play for a handful of games now, we decided it was a good time to put together this season's first NBA Rookie Power Rankings. Keep in mind that these aren't Rookie of the Year rankings -- they're a heat map of which rookies are excelling and which may be struggling as the season goes on. Young is first this week, but he could be out of the rankings next week depending on his performance.
Now that we're all on the same page, here are the first NBA Rookie Power Rankings of the 2018-19 season.
| 1 | 
Trae Young
Atlanta Hawks PG
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Stats this week: 21.5 points, 7.5 assists, 3.5 rebounds Perhaps no rookie was as polarizing as Young heading into the NBA season, with some trumpeting his talents as a Steph Curry-Steve Nash hybrid and others dismissing him as a flash-in-the-pan whose skill set and slight frame would never translate to the NBA. So far, it looks like the kid can hang -- his 35-point, 11 assist, one-turnover game against the Cavs put him in rare air as an NBA rookie. He leads all first-year players in scoring, and has made 39 percent of his 3-pointers while putting up nearly eight per game -- that's elite level shooting. But besides the shooting and passing (7.5 assists also leads all rookies ... by far), Young's ability to finish around the rim must be exciting for the Hawks. According to Synergy Sports data, Young has converted nine of his 12 attempts around the basket, and has found creative ways to finish in traffic. If Young is able to finish like this around the basket while forcing teams to guard him 30 feet from the basket, the Curry comparison becomes a real thing. | |
| 2 | 
Deandre Ayton
Phoenix Suns C
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Stats this week: 16.3 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.0 blocks For whatever reason, Ayton hasn't inspired the fervor that Young and Doncic have, but he's put up a rock-solid start to his NBA career. He's averaged a double-double in four games -- something we should get used to -- while shooting 63 percent from the field, but the most pleasant surprise has been his playmaking. New Suns coach Igor Kokoskov said before the season that he'd like to see Ayton facilitate the offense, and so far the 20-year-old has responded with 15 assists and just four turnovers. The defensive issues that marred his scouting report coming out of Arizona are apparent, but overall it's been a great start for the Suns cornerstone. | |
| 3 | 
Luka Doncic
Dallas Mavericks SF
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Stats this week: 19.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.0 steals Luka-mania is real, and the much-hyped 19-year-old has already delivered with a handful of highlight-reel plays. Doncic has scored at a high volume, albeit somewhat inefficiently, but his rebounding has been a big plus, since it allows him to push the ball in transition. The biggest disappointment, however, and the reason he's behind Ayton in this week's rankings, is his high turnover total. Doncic actually has more turnovers than assists through four games, which should change as he continues to get used to the NBA game. | |
| 4 | 
Jaren Jackson Jr.
Memphis Grizzlies PF
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Stats this week: 14.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.5 steals, 1.3 blocks Jackson started off the year as a key part of the Grizzlies rotation, and he moved into the starting lineup when JaMychal Green suffered a broken jaw. The 19-year-old hasn't shown the 3-point acumen that he displayed in college (2-for-12 so far), but he's been active on the boards and on the defensive end, as you can see from his steals and blocks. Jackson has a ton of maturing to do, both physically and with his game, so the Grizzlies have to be excited that he's already producing in significant minutes. | |
| 5 | 
Marvin Bagley III
Sacramento Kings PF
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Stats this week: 14.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.2 blocks The No. 2 overall pick has a lot to prove after being selected ahead of Doncic, Jackson and Young, and so far he's been solid. After only playing 12 minutes in his debut against the Jazz (a tough defense to face in your first NBA game), Bagley produced in larger chunks of minutes in his next four games. He's made 58 percent of his shots, and his confidence was surely boosted by a 20-point, nine-rebound, five-block performance, mostly in garbage time, in a loss to the the Nuggets. | |
| 6 | 
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Los Angeles Clippers PG
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Stats this week: 8.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists The Clippers absolutely love Gilgeous-Alexander, and it's easy to see why. The maturity and poise he displays as a 20-year-old is impressive, and he's already supplanted Milos Teodosic as the team's backup point guard. Gilgeous-Alexander has shot 50 percent from the field in his first four games, and has already displayed a strong ability to finish out of the pick-and-roll, either by getting to the basket or by hitting a silky smooth pull-up jumper. | |
| 7 | 
Collin Sexton
Cleveland Cavaliers PG
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Stats this week: 11.0 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists Sexton hasn't exactly been the face of the franchise the Cavs hoped he would be following the departure of LeBron James, but it's obviously way too early to judge. He has as many turnovers as assists after five games, but he has shown an ability and willingness to take big shots. Thursday night's game against the Pistons, in which he scored 14 points and dished out five assists with just one turnover, could be the jumping off point for Sexton to grab the reins of his struggling team. | |
| 8 | 
Josh Okogie
Minnesota Timberwolves SG
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Stats this week: 9.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.3 steals We all know Tom Thibodeau doesn't like rookies, but Okogie performed admirably in two fill-in starts -- one for Jimmy Butler and one for Andrew Wiggins. A freak athlete who impressed veterans with his energy in camp, Okogie recorded a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds in 27 minutes against the Raptors on Wednesday, making two of his four 3-point attempts. After a preseason game against the Warriors, Okogie said he thought the NBA game was slower than college, the opposite of what you usually hear from rookies. Maybe when you're as fast as Okogie, a lot of things look slow. | |
| 9 | 
Miles Bridges
Charlotte Hornets SF
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Stats this week: 6.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists Bridges only took one shot in his NBA debut, but followed that up with a 15-point, eight-rebound performance against the Magic in which he made all three of his 3-point attempts. He's only taken four shots in each of the two games since then, which has allowed him to shoot 65 percent from the field and 43 percent from deep for his young career, and the Hornets have a plus-5.1 net rating when he's on the court. Charlotte coach James Borrego recently hinted at lineup changes, and Bridges stepping in for Jeremy Lamb at starting small forward is a real possibility. It will be interesting to see if he becomes more aggressive in a larger role. | |
| 10 | 
Omari Spellman
Atlanta Hawks PF
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Stats this week: 9.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, 0.3 assists The Hawks' other rookie has had a fine start to his NBA career as well. Spellman's made the most of extra minutes in the absence of John Collins, and had a brilliant 17-point performance against the Cavs while shooting 6-of-8 from the field and 4-of-5 on 3-pointers. Spellman may not be a mainstay in the rotation once Collins comes back, but he's proven that he can be a dependable stretch-four in limited minutes so far. | |
On the bubble
