Quick, who were the last two rookies from the same draft class to average 20.0 PPG? That would be LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony, back in the 2003-04 season.
OK, who was the last rookie to average 25.0 PPG? One Michael Jeffrey Jordan, in the 1984-85 season.
All right, who was the last rookie to average 15.0 PPG, 10.0 RPG and 5.0 APG? You have to go back to Oscar Robertson, in the 1960-61 season.
In the first month of this NBA season, these are the types of historic names and achievements in play for the current draft class. And it really isn't a surprise.
We have had this class circled for years as a potentially generational group. By this spring, many were saying this could be one of the historic drafts of all-time, mentioned in the same breath as 2003 (LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade), 1996 (Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash) and 1984 (Hakeem Olajuwon, Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley).
On draft night, we saw a huge number of teams leave happy, with the thought they had just acquired impact, potentially franchise players. In the Las Vegas Summer League, we saw a number of these rookies play outstanding basketball to put the league on further notice. And now we're seeing these rookies play it out on the court.
And interestingly, the top marks in the class aren't being turned in by No. 1 overall pick AJ Dybantsa or No. 2 pick Darryn Peterson.
Darius Acuff Jr., the No. 6 pick in the class, leads the current rookie class in both scoring (25.9 PPG) and assists (7.4 APG).
Yaxel Lendeborg, the No. 11 pick, is second among rookies with 21.4 PPG and 7.2 APG while helping lead the Golden State Warriors into early Western Conference contention.
Cameron Boozer, the No. 3 pick, leads rookies in rebounds (9.7 RPG) and is currently averaging 16.2 PPG, 9.7 RPG and 5.5 APG.
Caleb Wilson, the No. 4 pick, leads rookies in steals (1.9 SPG) and is top-3 in both scoring (19.3 PPG) and rebounds (6.3 RPG).
Aday Mara, the No. 12 pick, leads rookies in blocks (1.9 BPG) and is fifth in rebounds (5.9 RPG).
The aforementioned Dybantsa and Peterson are both off to solid starts as well, turning in stat lines that would typically be competitive in Rookie of the Year races. Dybantsa is averaging a rounded 17 points and 6 rebounds while Peterson is at a rounded 15 points, 4 boards, 4 assists, a steal and a block.
Mikel Brown Jr., Keaton Wagler and Brayden Burries are all top-10 picks averaging double-digit points in the early going. Kingston Flemings is a lottery pick that recently unseeded incumbent veteran CJ McCollum as the starting point guard on an Atlanta Hawks squad with playoffs aspirations. Meleek Thomas was a second round pick that was traded on draft night, and he currently ranks seventh in the class with 13.0 PPG.
This rookie class is loaded. In a historic, we-may-never-have-seen-this-before kind of way. And this season's Rookie of the Year race, which is just getting started, shapes up to be absurdly epic.
Here's how the matchup could work and where I see a betting angle.
Odds by DraftKings
and subject to change.
Rookie of the Year
Leader: Yaxel Lendeborg (+190)
In the hunt: Cameron Boozer (+220), Darius Acuff Jr. (+340)
Longshots of interest: AJ Dybantsa (+750), Caleb Wilson (+900), Darryn Peterson (16-1), Keaton Wagler (80-1), Kingston Flemings (100-1)
Most Valuable Player
Co-Leaders: Luka Doncic (+145), Victor Wembanyama (+165)
In the hunt: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (+800), Jayson Tatum (12-1), Nikola Jokic (16-1)
Longer shots of interest: Giannis Antetokounmpo (35-1), Tyrese Maxey (50-1), Cade Cunningham (65-1), Stephen Curry (90-1)
Doncic and Wembanyama are both off to extremely fast starts to the season, moving them up into the pole positions to unseat Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokic from their run of three straight MVPs and five of the last six.
Doncic, the reigning NBA scoring champ, is currently lapping the field with an average up near 40 PPG. Meanwhile, reigning Defensive Player of the Year and perennial shot-blocking champ Wembanyama is currently almost doubling up second-place with 4.5 BPG (second is 2.5 BPG, Myles Turner) while also ranking third in the NBA in scoring with 30.1 PPG.
Doncic's Lakers are leading the Western Conference, but Wembanyama's Spurs are only a half-game behind in second. Both Doncic and Wembanyama have posted MVP-caliber seasons in the past but are on-pace to turn in their best seasons, so durability and team success over the course of the marathon NBA season will play huge roles in whether either can win their first MVP award this season.
Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokic are both off to strong enough starts that they could easily get back into the MVP race before the season ends. Tatum, in his first season sans Jaylen Brown, will remain in the MVP race as long as he keeps his Boston Celtics up near the top of the Eastern Conference.
Among the longshots, Curry is of most interest because he was the most unlikely to seriously contend for this award. But at 38 years old, Curry is currently second in the NBA in scoring at 30.2 PPG, has led the Warriors on an eight-game (and counting) winning streak and has them among the Western Conference contenders. It is unclear if he can maintain this pace, but eventually teammate Jimmy Butler III is expected to return, and if the Warriors remain contenders and Curry stays healthy he could get more attention for MVP later on.
Sixth Man of the Year
Leader: Payton Pritchard (+180)
In the hunt: Jrue Holiday (+425), CJ McCollum (12-1)
Longer shots of interest: Jared McCain (18-1), Aaron Wiggins (20-1), Anthony Black (22-1)
This award always fluctuates throughout the season, making it difficult to find futures value among the shortest odds this early in the season. Pritchard is playing well enough to earn his pole position, and he could maintain it, but players like Holiday or McCollum that typically start and are having starter-caliber impact off the bench on contending teams could move up as well.
Among the longer shots, young players playing larger roles due to teammate injury could make more noise as the season progresses. Black broke out for the Magic last season and has upside this season, if he doesn't start too many games to be eligible for the award. McCain's instant offense role for the Thunder could draw more eyes if the Thunder are able to overcome their injuries and resume their typical position at the top of the West.
Defensive Player of the Year
Leader: Victor Wembanyama (-450)
Longshots of interest: Scottie Barnes (16-1), Ausar Thompson (16-1), Rudy Gobert (35-1),
This is the most uncompetitive of the futures races. The only question is whether Wembanyama stays healthy enough to reach the 65-game threshold. If so, it is very difficult to imagine anyone unseating him for DPoY. If Wemby does not reach that threshold, particularly with Chet Holmgren out with long term injury, it would open up the field for players like Barnes, Gobert or the Thompson brothers to get into the mix.
Most Improved Player
Leader: Ty Jerome (+220)
In the hunt: Ajay Mitchell (+425), Dylan Harper (12-1)
Longshots of interest: Brandon Miller (15-1), Jaden McDaniels (20-1), Davion Mitchell (25-1), Walker Kessler (28-1), Ayo Dosunmu (28-1)
This is another race that typically fluctuates as the season progresses, but Jerome is a stronger contender than typical because his level of play is so far beyond his career norms. Typically, the MIP award goes to a young player in his second through fourth season who ramps up from a fringe starter to an All Star caliber player.
Jerome, though, is in his eighth season and his first as a full-time starter. In his first seven seasons, Jerome averaged 8.9 PPG in 17.0 MPG. As such, his current pace of 26.7 PPG in 30.6 MPG so drastically dwarfs his career averages that it will be difficult for the other MIP contenders to post a larger improvement.
But, Jerome has only played more than 48 games once in his NBA career, 70 games in 2024-25, so the 65-game threshold could come into play. In that scenario, it opens up the door for the typical young-players-growing-into-larger-roles crowd to become stronger candidates for MIP.