When the Detroit Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers met on Saturday, the matchup gave fans the opportunity to watch two of the top first-year players in Cade Cunningham and Evan Mobley. They were each top-three picks, and represent a big part of the future in a class that has dazzled.
Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff even thinks it could be a historic class.
Cunningham recorded 15 points, 10 assists, six rebounds, two steals and one blocked shot for his 10th double-double of the season in the loss to the Cavaliers. Meanwhile, Mobley had 12 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, two blocks and one steal for his rookie-leading 20th double-double.
The two are among seemingly a handful of players in the discussion for Rookie of the Year. The race for the annual award appears to be as competitive as it has been in quite some time with so many in contention this late in the season.
Bickerstaff explained what has stood out about this group of rookies.
I think this class is going to go down, when we look back 10-15 years from now, as a top-three or top-four draft class of all-time. There are so many guys that can play at such a high level (with) their skillset and size and ability to impact winning, which is the most important thing that we should value. You see all of these young guys and they play the game more maturely than their age says they should and they have immense talent to go with it.
Cunningham and Mobley each have strong cases for Rookie of the Year.
The No. 1 pick recently tied a Pistons rookie record for most consecutive 20-point games (7) in team history, which ended on Saturday. He now leads the rookie class in scoring average (16.9) and is second in assists (5.4) and fourth in rebounding (5.9).
On the other side, Mobley is averaging 15.2 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.7 blocked shots. The third pick leads the class in rebounding and blocks and recently produced his first 30-point game on March 14 versus the Los Angeles Clippers.
Pistons head coach Dwane Casey recently called Cunningham the Rookie of the Year given his overall body of work and ability late in games. Of course, the two head coaches are biased toward their own players, but Casey acknowledged the stiff competition for the award.
I’m biased for Cade and everything but I’m also a realist and know there are other rookies that are out there, including Evan Mobley and (Houston Rockets guard) Jalen Green and all of those guys. I just feel like Cade brings so much to the table as far as where we are in our rebuild situation. We’re not in the playoff hunt because we’re purposely building our resume. You can make a case for each player but, like I said a couple of weeks ago, I’m very biased.
Cunningham and Mobley figure to also be competing against Green, Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes and Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner. Each player has shown out all season long and could walk away with the award, as a result.
The rookie class has dazzled throughout the season and could emerge as one of the best ever. The conversation for Rookie of the Year will only escalate but the heated debate just further highlights how impressive the group has been this season.
This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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