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Zach KramJan 22, 2026, 06:00 AM ET
The midpoint of the NBA season presents a new challenge for rookies. If the start of the season is difficult because of the higher level of competition, with bigger and faster and more skilled opponents, then the 41-game mark adds a new wrinkle just as rookies are starting to adjust: Now they must endure the grind of the longest basketball season they’ve ever played.
Last year’s NCAA national champion played 40 games; Warriors rookie Will Richard, who starred for that Florida team, reached the 40-game mark in the NBA on Tuesday night and still has half a season to go.
But that also provides a perfect opportunity to assess the rookie class with another ranking. Note: This is a ranking of the quality of the rookies’ play right now, rather than a long-term projection. Richard (who ranked seventh in the first edition of these rankings in November), the Hornets’ Sion James (eighth) and the Pelicans’ Jeremiah Fears (10th) fell out of the top 10 in this edition, with Fears as the last cut.
Stats are updated as of the morning of Jan. 21
Jump straight to the No. 1 player
10. Egor Demin, Brooklyn Nets
November ranking: Not ranked
Demin is a player of extremes. He rarely gets to the rim and rarely draws free throws, but he’s a gifted passer and, at 6-foot-8, fits the modern archetype of a big lead playmaker. Demin’s 3-point accuracy has climbed to 39.8% — a major development given his 27% mark in college.
If Demin can consistently knock down his tries from deep, then defenses will be forced to guard him on the perimeter and he’ll be able to access his passing in a much greater way. When Demin shares the court with Michael Porter Jr., the Nets have a plus-3.6 net rating and a 120.1 offensive rating, per databallr, which is four ticks higher than the league average.
9. Collin Murray-Boyles, Toronto Raptors
November ranking: Ninth
Despite being listed at 6-7, Murray-Boyles has spent 93% of his minutes at center, per Cleaning the Glass. That small-ball approach isn’t perfect, as Murray-Boyles has plenty of offensive limitations; he has made only 15 3-pointers in 37 games. But his switchability and movement make him an ideal fit on the defensive end: The Raptors have a 106.6 defensive rating when Murray-Boyles shares the court with Scottie Barnes, which is 10 points better than the league average.
8. Tre Johnson, Washington Wizards
November ranking: Not ranked
Shooting is arguably the most important single skill a player can possess in the modern NBA — and Johnson has that skill in abundance. The 19-year-old is making 39% of his 5.3 3-point attempts per game, and he has been just as efficient on pull-up attempts (40%) as catch-and-shoot tries (39%).
Johnson has also benefited from greater opportunities since the Wizards traded for Trae Young, not because Young is feeding him pinpoint passes yet — the former Hawks guard hasn’t made his Wizards debut — but because losing CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert in the deal means more playing time for Washington’s youngsters. Johnson’s four highest-minute games of the season (31 minutes once, 30 minutes three times) have all come in the week since the trade.
7. Ryan Kalkbrenner, Charlotte Hornets
November ranking: Fifth
Kalkbrenner sat out a few weeks straddling the new year because of an elbow injury. But the reasons the second-round pick ranks above so many players drafted ahead of him in these rankings are the same as they were in the first edition. Kalkbrenner is a solid rim protector for a rookie, with 1.6 blocks per game and a 58% opposing field goal percentage at the rim that puts him next to the Nets’ Nic Claxton, the Portland Trail Blazers‘ Donovan Clingan and the Philadelphia 76ers‘ Joel Embiid on the NBA leaderboard.
And though Kalkbrenner isn’t doing anything particularly ambitious or revolutionary on offense, there’s still value in a big finisher who can make 77% of his shots. Rudy Gobert (72%) of the Minnesota Timberwolves is the only other player averaging at least four attempts who’s even at 70% this season.
6. Dylan Harper, San Antonio Spurs
November ranking: Fourth
Harper marks a tier jump in this ranking; nobody ranked below sixth was ever in true consideration to go any higher, while the next few players are all close and moved around at various points in the ranking process. There’s a case Harper deserves to go a couple of spots higher or also remain in fourth place, as he was in the last edition. But despite the No. 2 pick’s electric drives, savvy finishing at the rim and perimeter defense for an excellent young team, one major flaw is knocking him down a peg: shooting.
Harper is making only 74% of his free throws and 24% of his 3-pointers. Among 200 qualified players, he ranks 196th in true shooting percentage.
This isn’t just a short-term problem, as San Antonio aims to contend for the 2025-26 title; Harper’s shooting struggles could also lower his long-term ceiling. According to Stathead, here are the rookie guards since 2010 who shot worse than 75% on free throws and 30% on 3s (minimum 1,000 minutes), as Harper is now: Stephon Castle, Isaiah Collier, Cody Williams, Josh Christopher, Isaac Okoro, Jarrett Culver, Josh Okogie, Ben Simmons, Kris Dunn, Elfrid Payton, Michael Carter-Williams, Phil Pressey, Nate Wolters, Alexey Shved and Eric Bledsoe.
Very few players from that list developed into reliable starters, let alone offensive engines, and Simmons is the only one who became an All-Star. Perhaps Harper can follow in the footsteps of teammate Castle, who appears to be on that trajectory himself, despite his own continued shooting challenges. But that’s a sufficiently worrisome list of precedents that it bumps Harper down a couple of spots at this juncture.
5. Cedric Coward, Memphis Grizzlies
November ranking: First
The season’s first rookie rankings ran at just about the moment that Coward was enjoying his early peak. He has slumped a bit since, falling to 34% from distance — though Coward remains efficient overall because he’s strong on 2-pointers and free throws. He remains a clear building block for Memphis as the franchise decides whether to stay its current course or begin a longer-term rebuild.
But more concerning is Coward’s lack of defensive activity, given that he seemingly checks all the boxes for a 3-and-D wing. The box score isn’t everything on defense, but Coward’s 0.5 steals and 0.3 blocks per game are rather lackluster. On a per-minute basis, Coward’s stock rate ranks 29th among 34 rookies with at least 250 minutes this season.
4. Derik Queen, New Orleans Pelicans
November ranking: 10th
By and large, most NBA rookies struggle more than they succeed. It’s sometimes better to search for glimpses of potential instead of looking at their overall statistical averages.
And my, does Queen ooze potential. Catch him on the right night, and he looks like the best rookie in the whole class: By game score, Queen’s 33-point triple-double against the Spurs in December is tied for the most impressive performance by a rookie this season.
But one key trend to monitor is that the Pelicans have really struggled when Queen plays with Zion Williamson. New Orleans has a minus-14.3 net rating in those minutes, with an offensive rating five points worse than league average and a defensive rating that’s nine points worse.
It’s still hard to envision exactly how Queen will contribute to a winning team in the future, given his poor fit with Williamson and his own considerable defensive shortcomings and lack of shooting range. (He’s 8 for 42, or 19%, on 3-pointers.) But Queen’s combination of size and playmaking ability is so intriguing that, even in a strong rookie class, he deserves a spot this high.
3. VJ Edgecombe, Philadelphia 76ers
November ranking: Second
Edgecombe got off to a scorching start in October, slumped in November and has since rebounded to already be a solid NBA starter at 20 years old. Edgecombe isn’t very efficient overall, but his 37% mark on 3-pointers is a crucial improvement on the 34% he managed on the shorter college line at Baylor. And his defensive activity is stellar, as he’s averaging 1.5 steals and ranks 14th with 3.5 deflections per game.
The young guard still has ample room to improve. On pick-and-rolls, for instance, Edgecombe is averaging just 0.76 points per play, which ranks last among 94 players with at least 300 picks this season.
But the other factor in Edgecombe’s favor is his team context, as he’s putting up impressive overall numbers (15.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.2 assists) while playing for a winner. Harper is the only other rookie near the top of this list who can say the same, and he’s coming off the bench while Edgecombe is playing 36 minutes a game in Philadelphia.
2. Cooper Flagg, Dallas Mavericks
November ranking: Sixth
Flagg was never going to stay in the middle of these rankings for long. Despite a shaky start to his career while he played point guard, and a persistently inconsistent jump shot (28.6% on 3-pointers), he has made an impressive climb since November.
Flagg is unsurprisingly the most complete all-around rookie in this class. He’s the best defender — and it’s not particularly close — and his offensive strides in only two months are meaningful. In his first 10 games, Flagg averaged 13.9 points and 3.0 assists on 40% shooting, but he’s up to 20.4 points and 4.5 assists on 50% shooting since. Like Queen, Flagg checks off the “wow” factor.
Flagg sat out some time last week because of a sprained ankle, but he returned with no ill effects in a win at Madison Square Garden over the Knicks on Monday. Given his current trajectory, it wouldn’t remotely be a surprise to see him claim the top spot in the next set of rookie rankings.
1. Kon Knueppel, Charlotte Hornets
November ranking: Third
Flagg is the heavy Rookie of the Year favorite (-750) according to betting markets, but his former Duke teammate has been the best rookie in the NBA this season. Whether it’s because he plays for the overlooked Hornets — who have quietly improved their point differential to an even 0.0 for the season — or because he was the No. 4 pick instead of the No. 1 selection, Knueppel has seemed underappreciated this season despite unprecedented production.
The main narrative surrounding Knueppel is his pursuit of various rookie 3-point records — he’s making 3.4 3-pointers per game on 43.5% shooting. The Kings’ Keegan Murray has the rookie record for most total made 3s, with 206, but Knueppel is on pace for 273.
Less discussed, but arguably even more impressive, is Knueppel’s overall efficiency. His 64.5% true shooting mark is the highest for any rookie in NBA history with at least a 20% usage rate in 1,200-plus minutes.
Most of the rookies near the top of that leaderboard are centers, but the most efficient rookie seasons from non-bigs belong to Sarunas Marciulionis (a longtime European pro before he came to the NBA as a 25-year-old rookie), Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley, James Worthy, Eric Gordon and Michael Jordan. That’s a remarkable list of comps.
Knueppel has benefited from rising efficiency leaguewide since the likes of Johnson and Jordan were rookies. Still, Knueppel’s true shooting is 11% better than the league average this season, which is comparable to those inner-circle Hall of Famers as rookies.
Just looking at this season, Knueppel’s true shooting percentage is higher than seven of the 10 All-Star starters (all except Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander), and it’s third best among all high-usage guards, behind only Gilgeous-Alexander and Austin Reaves.
This would be an elite performance from an established veteran star — and Knueppel is accomplishing it as a 20-year-old halfway into his first NBA season. It’s this data point that vaults Knueppel to the top spot in these rankings and helps him fend off Flagg for now.
Originally published at ESPN
