JJ Redick explains why Jalen Williams is making a push for Rookie of the Year
Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero is the heavy favorite to win Rookie of the Year this season, but former 15-year veteran JJ Redick believes the No. 1 pick has a new challenger for the award: Jalen Williams of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Banchero has been the top rookie throughout the year and currently leads the class in scoring average (20 points), field goals (440) and 30-point games (5). He has taken home the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month award three times.
However, Williams has come on strong of late for the Thunder.
He is averaging 13.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.4 steals in 66 games, ranking fourth in scoring among rookies, fourth in assists and first in steals. He is shooting 51.8% from the field, including 34.8% from 3-point range. Williams has a leg up on Banchero in several advanced categories, including true shooting percentage (59.7 to 52.8), offensive win shares (2.5 to -0.2) and defensive win shares (2.4 to 2.3).
Redick, speaking on the “Old Man & the Three” podcast with Tommy Alter, explained why Williams is closing in on Banchero in the Rookie of the Year conversation.
I would argue that he is making a late push, and a worthy push, for Rookie of the Year. If you just look at the advanced stats for Jalen Williams versus Paolo Banchero, Jalen outshines him in nearly every advanced stat, whether it is true shooting percentage, offensive win shares — where Paolo is a negative offensive win-share on Basketball-Reference — defensive win shares, win shares per-48. You could make a strong argument that Jalen Williams has had a better rookie season than Paolo Banchero counting stats aside.
But that’s where we get into role and Paolo Banchero has been asked to be a primary shot creator on the Orlando Magic and like all young players, he has struggled at times with efficiency. His 3-point shooting was god-awful in February, 1-of-33, I think, for the month. I’m not saying I would vote for Jalen Williams if I had a vote but I think — where it felt like Banchero for months and months and months was the runaway favorite on this — Jalen Williams is definitely in the conversation along with Banchero for Rookie of the Year.
The late push by Williams will likely not be enough to enable him to receive significant consideration from the awards voters. Banchero seemingly came out of the gate on fire and has mostly maintained that level of play throughout the year.
Though Williams will likely fall short of the award, he has still proven to be one of the top first-year players at this point. He will be a lock for the All-Rookie first team and looks to be a franchise cornerstone for the Thunder moving forward.
Still, the recent emergence of Williams will certainly create some intriguing conversation surrounding the Rookie of the Year race over the final two-plus weeks of action in the NBA.
