Kings guard Tyrese Haliburton passes Anthony Edwards as new No. 1 in NBA.com Rookie Ladder
Kings guard Tyrese Haliburton is gaining momentum in the Rookie of the Year race after moving to the top of NBA.com’s weekly rookie rankings.
Haliburton was the new No. 1 in this week’s Kia Rookie Ladder, passing Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves for the top spot after helping the Kings win seven of eight to climb back into playoff contention. Edwards was No. 2 followed by Immanuel Quickley of the New York Knicks, Jae’Sean Tate of the Houston Rockets, Saddiq Bey of the Detroit Pistons and LaMelo Ball of the Charlotte Hornets.
Edwards moved to No. 1 in last week’s Rookie Ladder after Ball suffered a broken wrist, an injury that could cause him to miss the rest of the season. Edwards leads all rookies in scoring at 17.2 points per game, but he is shooting 38.6% from the field and 30.8% from 3-point range for a team that has lost 16 of 20 to fall to 11-36.
Haliburton is averaging 13.2 points, 5.0 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals for the Kings (22-25), who have won five in a row and seven of eight going into Wednesday’s game against the San Antonio Spurs (23-21). Haliburton, who came out of Iowa State as the No. 12 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, has been remarkably efficient, shooting 48.7% from the field, 42.3% from 3-point range and 86.8% at the free-throw line. He has 206 assists with just 63 turnovers in 1,237 minutes.
The Kings have gone 7-1 since Haliburton moved into the starting lineup to replace Marvin Bagley III, who suffered a fractured fourth metacarpal in his left hand. Haliburton was named Western Conference Rookie of the Month for December/January and February.
Ball was leading the Rookie of the Year race when he broke his wrist in a March 20 game against the Los Angeles Clippers. He is averaging 15.9 points, 6.1 assists and 5.9 rebounds, but he has appeared in only 41 games. That might not be enough for Rookie of the Year voters if he doesn’t return from the injury. New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson received only one first-place vote after appearing in 24 games last season.
Paul Hoffman of the Baltimore Bullets won the Rookie of the Year award after appearing in 37 games in 1947-48 – the first year the award was presented – but that was a 48-game season. Since then, no player has been named Rookie of the Year without appearing in at least 50 games.
This story was originally published March 31, 2021 at 1:49 PM.