Eric Paschall’s rookie campaign has been one of the league’s most pleasant surprises, and now that we’re almost 20 percent of the way through the NBA season, it’s safe to say he’s no fluke.
Paschall has been a bright spot in a dismal start for the Golden State Warriors. The rookie has carried the team through the early parts of 2019. With Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry out, Paschall ranks in the top three in several statistical categories for the Warriors, including points per game (17.1) and field goal percentage (50.5).
Paschall’s 256 total points are good enough to not only lead Golden State, but rank as the most amount of points scored by any rookie this season— not bad for a guy who had 40 players picked before him in the 2019 draft.
Paschall leads lottery picks like Ja Morant (241), RJ Barrett (229) and Tyler Herro (168) in points. The Villanova product also ranks in the top-five in rookie points per game, total rebounds, rebounds per game, and field goal percentage.
👀👀👀 @epaschall pic.twitter.com/pKT5ckogcg
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) November 22, 2019
Paschall has dropped two-30 point-plus games this season, Morant has one of his own, while Barrett, Herro, and Bulls rookie Coby White have zero— all players with better odds to win the 2020 Rookie of the Year according to Caesar’s sportsbook.
Can anyone catch Ja? 🏆
(via Caesars Sportsbook) pic.twitter.com/PxyayNJ3K8
— B/R Betting (@br_betting) November 19, 2019
The most important stat for Paschall might be the fact he’s only missed one game for a team ravaged by injury. The Warriors lead the NBA in games missed due to injury, but the rookie has played in 15-of-16 games this season.
With most of the Warriors roster still on the mend, the 23-year old will continue to get opportunities to be the primary scorer when on the floor. If Paschall can continue to play at this pace, he should be a favorite to take home Rookie of the Month honors for November.