The NBA season is in full swing. Some of the best young players in the league are enjoying strong seasons so far. Everyone is focused on San Antonio Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama, but he isn't the only rookie catching the attention of fans.
So which rookies are performing the best? Which young players are struggling? Are any first-year players failing to meet expectations?
Today, we will be taking a deep dive into the statistics in an effort to evaluate the performance and impact of rookies in the NBA.
Most Productive Rookies in 2023-24
Who has been the most productive rookie in 2023-24? Using the statistic PER (player efficiency rating), we discovered some interesting information about the NBA's rookies.
For those who aren't aware of PER, it is a stat that rates a player's per-minute productivity. It's become a popular statistic as analytics continue to become more relied upon.
Wembanyama surprisingly isn't number one in PER. He is still enjoying a strong campaign from a PER standpoint, checking in at number three among all rookies.
Who leads the way though?
PER stats provided by ESPN.
| Player | PER |
| 1. Chet Holmgren, Oklahoma City Thunder | 21.19 |
| 2. Dereck Lively, Dallas Mavericks | 17.18 |
| 3. Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs | 16.32 |
| 4. Ausar Thompson, Detroit Pistons | 15.54 |
| 5. Marcus Sasser, Detroit Pistons | 14.79 |
| 6. Brandin Podziemski, Golden State Warriors | 13.77 |
| 7. Cason Wallace, Oklahoma City Thunder | 13.49 |
| 8. Brandon Miller, Charlotte Hornets | 12.83 |
| 9. Jaime Jaquez Jr., Miami Heat | 11.84 |
| 10. Sasha Vezenkov, Sacramento Kings | 11.50 |
Holmgren was supposed to make his NBA debut in 2022-23. He suffered an injury prior to the season and ultimately missed the entire year as a result.
At 21-years old, Holmgren is technically now in his rookie season and he certainly has not disappointed.
Lively has been one of the Mavs most key players. Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving obviously receive the most attention for Dallas. Players such as Tim Hardaway Jr. and Grant Williams are crucial to the team's success as well.
Lively presents a reliable option in the post who helps the Mavs both on the boards and on the defensive side of the ball. He has quietly emerged as a Rookie of the Year candidate.
Of course, there is Wembanyama trailing Lively and Holmgren. Wembanyama, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, has performed well for the most part.
He is still a very strong candidate to win the Rookie of the Year award. Holmgren presents difficult competition in that regard though. And Lively is also making things interesting.
The remainder of the top 10 includes a number of future stars. The NBA has a bright future without question.
How Rookies are Impacting Teams
Using win shares, a statistic that estimates the amount of wins a player helps a team earn, we discovered which rookies are playing important roles in their team's success.
Statistics provided by Basketball Reference.
Holmgren leads the charge once again with a mark of 1.6. Lively follows Holmgren, checking in at 1.1 win shares.
Wembanyama isn't even close to the top of the leaderboard here, ranking 467th in win shares with a mark of -0.3. Although he's played fairly well, Wembanyama isn't helping the Spurs win on a consistent basis. It should be noted that San Antonio has struggled overall, so that doesn't help Wembanyama here.
Plus-minus is another statistic that helps to determine how well a player is performing when on the court. The statistic breaks down a team's overall scoring when the player is in the game.
Plus-minus statistics provided by StatMuse.
| Player | Plus-Minus |
| 1. Chet Holmgren, Oklahoma City Thunder | +62 |
| 2. Dereck Lively, Dallas Mavericks | +61 |
| 3. Cason Wallace, Oklahoma City Thunder | +48 |
| 4. Trayce Jackson-Davis, Golden State Warriors | +40 |
| 5. Anthony Black, Orlando Magic | +26 |
| 6. Vasilije Micic, Oklahoma City Thunder | +24 |
| 7. Kobe Brown, Los Angeles Clippers | +14 |
| T8. Brandin Podziemski, Golden State Warriors | +10 |
| T8. Sasha Vezenkov, Sacramento Kings | +10 |
| T9. Amari Bailey (Charlotte Hornets), Jalen Pickett (Denver Nuggets), Jett Howard (Orlando Magic) | +7 |
Holmgren once again leads the way. He would be the Rookie of the Year if the season ended today. The Thunder feature a talented roster and Holmgren is clearly playing a big role for OKC.
Lively is also performing well. Outside of Dallas, Lively's performance may be getting overlooked. However, he deserves far more attention than he is currently receiving.
Lively is near the very top of the leaderboard. The Mavs would not be where they are without his superb performance up to this point.
Wallace has also quietly been productive for the Thunder. Oklahoma City will be a team to closely monitor throughout the 2023-24 season.
The Warriors also have two players on this list in Jackson-Davis and Podziemski. Golden State has endured a mediocre season up to this point amid some key veterans struggling, but they feature some talented rookies based on our data.
So just how important are these numbers? What exactly do the advanced statistics tell us?
What Do These Statistics Tell Us?
Is Holmgren guaranteed to be a superstar? Is Wembanyama a bust? What do these statistics truly mean?
The 2023-24 season is still relatively young. No, Wembanyama is not a bust despite not appearing on the top 10 leaderboard for plus-minus.
Holmgren projects to be a superstar. It is still very early in his career though. Still, the early results have been encouraging to say the least.
The standouts from our data are Lively and Wallace. Sometimes it requires a deep dive into the numbers to find underrated stars.
For anyone who has consistently watched the Mavs or Thunder, Lively and Wallace's contributions haven't been difficult to notice. Casual NBA fans can learn a lot from these statistics though.
It will be especially interesting to follow these stats as the season continues on. Holmgren is going to have a realistic chance of making the All-Star team based on these advanced numbers alone. His impressive surface numbers also will not hurt though.
