Kurt Helin
Evan Mobley (Cavaliers)
Cade Cunningham (Pistons)
Scottie Barnes (Raptors)
Josh Giddey (Thunder)
Franz Wagner (Magic)
Second team
Herbert Jones (Pelicans)
Ayo Dosunmu (Bulls)
Jalen Green (Rockets)
Bones Hyland (Nuggets)
Chris Duarte (Pacers)
This ended up being an incredibly deep draft class that we are going to look back on as one of the better ones of the last decade. On the second team there are a couple of defensive specialists in Ayo Dosunmu and Herbert Jones who ended up playing critical roles for their teams, they were the unexpected finds of the draft. Josh Giddey and Franz Wagner were lottery picks that outperformed expectations. It was hard to leave Alperen Sengun, Jalen Suggs and Cam Thomas off this list, they would have made it most years. This was just a very deep class.
Dan Feldman
First team
Evan Mobley (Cavaliers)
Scottie Barnes (Raptors)
Franz Wagner (Magic)
Cade Cunningham (Pistons)
Herbert Jones (Pelicans)
Second team
Jose Alvarado (Pelicans)
Josh Giddey Thunder)
Chris Duarte (Pacers)
Ayo Dosunmu (Bulls)
Jalen Green (Rockets)
Evan Mobley, Scottie Barnes and Franz Wagner probably are – and should be – All-Rookie first-team locks. As the No. 1 pick, leading scorer in his class (17 points per game) and someone playing at a fairly high level lately, Cade Cunningham will also probably cruise onto the first team. But when evaluating full-season contributions – as I do – Cunningham’s slow start is a major dent in his case. Still, I have him on the first team. Herbert Jones deserves more credit for playing hounding defense on a competitive team.
Another pesky Pelican, Jose Alvarado leads the second team. Josh Giddey’s all-around contributions (despite unevenness), Chris Duarte’s steadiness and Ayo Dosunmu’s attacking both offensively and defensively made those three players the next inclusions. Jalen Green came on strong enough lately (29 points per game in his last six contests) to snag the last spot despite a larger sample of looking lost as a distributor and defender.