Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett stole plenty of headlines leading up to and after the 2019 NBA Draft, but it was the third member of the famed Duke freshman trio that has rookies watching closely.
In the NBA’s annual rookie survey, Cam Reddish, picked by the Atlanta Hawks at No. 10, is expected to have the best career of his first-year peers, with 19% of the vote.
Memphis’ No. 2 overall pick Ja Morant wasn’t far behind with 16%, while the Pelicans’ Williamson and Knicks’ Barrett tied for fourth (5%) behind the Hawks’ other lottery pick, De’Andre Hunter (11%), who went fourth.
Williamson got 35% of the vote as the likely pick to win Rookie of the Year honors, ahead of Morant (27%), while Barrett (5%) and Reddish tied for third.
The Knicks’ second-rounder, Ignas Brazdeikis, got some love when the rookies were asked about their class’ best shooter, but not enough to finish in the top five.
When it came to players who have already taken a lap in the pros, the NBA freshman class named Lakers star LeBron James as its favorite player by an 18-percent margin over the newest Nets star Kevin Durant (38% to 20%), while Kawhi Leonard, Damian Lillard, Devin Booker and James Harden received some love, too.