Whatever.
NBA Rookie Power Rankings: Collin Sexton zooms past Trae Young, Luka Doncic to take No. 1 spot
Sexton had his best week as a pro to snatch the top spot from Rookie Rankings mainstays
by
Colin Ward-Henninger
The best part about the NBA -- and sports in general -- is that every once in a while you get a completely unpredictable result. For the first five months of the season,
Cavaliers rookie
Collin Sexton had been almost eerily consistent, averaging about 13-15 points per game pretty much every week.
So it's safe to say that nobody would have predicted that the speedy guard would zoom right past mainstays
Luka Doncic and
Trae Young to snatch the No. 1 spot in this week's
NBA Rookie Rankings -- but that's exactly what happened. Sexton had by far his best week as a pro, and it coincided with relatively down performances from Young and Doncic, so the Young Bull finds himself ahead of the pack ... for this week at least.
A couple other somewhat surprising names also made their way up the rankings -- Mavs point guard Jalen Bruson and
Pelicans guard
Frank Jackson -- as increased playing time on struggling teams has led to confidence and strong performances. As the regular season winds down in its final month, it will be fun to see if other rookies emerge as coaches give them a chance to show what they've got.
THIS WEEK'S NBA ROOKIE RANKINGS
1
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Collin SextonCLEVELAND CAVALIERS PG
Last week: 10
Stats this week: 26.0 points, 3.8 assists, 2.5 rebounds
Sexton's great week was a result of his blistering 3-point shooting (13-of-26), but he also got to the rim and finished at a prolific rate, leading to 55 percent field goal shooting in four games. He didn't take nearly as many mid-range jumpers, which resulted in a much higher percentage on 2-point field goals than he's produced all season. For the season he's averaging 4.9 mid-range attempts per game compared to 6.3 attempts in the paint and restricted area, and this week that dropped to 1.5 mid-range attempts and bumped up to 8.8 attempts in the paint and restricted area. He didn't settle for pull-up jumpers out of the pick-and-roll, instead getting all the way to the rim, which in turn opened up his 3-point looks.After an ugly seven-turnover game against the
Heat last Friday, Sexton didn't have a single turnover in two games against the
Raptors and Sixers. It's taken some growing pains, but the "Young Bull" has improved consistently as the season's gone on, and earns the top spot this week.
*Reminder: The rankings are based on the past week's performance, not the entire season