The Best Rookies In NBA History
Usually it takes a year or two for even the best NBA prospect to get acclimated to the professional game. But some players hit the ground running, and are able to flip the fate of franchises and the landscape of the league as a result. Here are the best rookies in NBA history.
Image via Getty/Focus On Sport
t’s not easy to come into a professional basketball league at 21 years of age and dominate. Even the most elite NBA prospects often need an adjustment period upon coming to The Association, so expectations are usually pretty low in a player’s first year. A few examples: Kobe Bryant averaged just 7.6 points per game as a rookie. Think that’s bad? Steve Nash averaged 3.3, and Jimmy Butler only played 8.6 minutes per game in his first season. Development doesn’t usually happen overnight.
But sometimes it does.
Most NBA teams will draft a player in the hopes that the player will eventually become an asset and help turn a franchise around. If that player starts performing right away, however, the fate of of a franchise can change instantaneously. A powerful rookie can take a team from the cellar to the playoffs in the blink of an eye.
Consider the Lakers; they were a middling franchise before a rookie sensation named Magic Johnson bought them a title in 1980. The Bulls had never won a championship—and had won just three playoff series’—before Michael Jordan was drafted in 1984. And when LeBron James joined the Cavs out of high school in 2003, the team went from being one of the NBA’s lowliest franchises to one of its most dominant in just a few years.
Not everyone can can change the game as a rookie, but some can. When they do, they deserve a special place in league history. With that said, here are the best rookies in NBA history.
25. Mark Jackson, 1987-88
Jackson was one of the NBA’s most prolific distributors during his 17-year NBA career, and his passing proficiency was perhaps best displayed in his rookie year with the Knicks. He averaged 10.6 assists per game that year—a rookie record—in addition to averaging 13.6 points and 2.5 steals per game. Jackson proved to be a solid pick for the Knicks.
24. Grant Hill, 1994-95
After a legendary career at Duke in which he won two championships in four years, Hill bought his talents to the NBA, and picked up right where he left off. He averaged 19.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 1.8 steals per game. It’s a shame a slew of ankle injuries robbed Hill of the grace he displayed with the Pistons back in the ‘90s, otherwise he would likely be a Hall of Famer today.
23. Larry Johnson, 1991-92
“Grandmama” left UNLV as one of the greatest college basketball players of all time; he was the reigning winner of the Wooden and Naismith awards, and won an NCAA championship in 1990. Any questions as to how quickly Johnson could acclimate to the NBA were immediately squashed during his first season; he averaged 19.2 points and a career-best 11.0 rebounds per game as a rookie in 1991-92.
22. Carmelo Anthony, 2003-04
With future Hall of Famers LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, and Chris Bosh all going in the top five, the 2003 NBA Draft class will always be remembered as one of the all-time most memorable in the history of professional sports. Going into that draft, ‘Melo was fresh off of a championship win with Syracuse; he continued to play like a champ in his first NBA season with the Nuggets, averaging 21.0 points and 6.1 rebounds per game.
21. Mitch Richmond, 1988-89
Richmond began his 10-year streak of averaging at least 20 points per game during his first year in the league. The Warriors’ No. 1 pick averaged 22.0 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game during the 1988-89 season, en route to Rookie of the Year honors.
20. LeBron James, 2003-04
LeBron James was the youngest player ever drafted No. 1 overall. He came into the NBA at just 18 years old, and with more hype than perhaps any teenage athlete in American history. It was a lot of pressure for such a young player, but LeBron lived up to it, putting up 20.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and 1.6 steals. That season, he became the youngest player to ever win Rookie of the Year, or to score 30 (and 40) points in a game.
19. Ron Harper, 1986-87
Harper is best known for his later years with the Bulls and Lakers (and for his cameo in an episode of Kenan and Kel), but he was a dominant scorer early in his career. His first season was his best; he averaged 22.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 2.5 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game for the Cavs.
18. Ralph Sampson, 1983-84
Early-career Ralph Sampson was as dominant as any other big man in NBA history. After being taken No. 1 overall in 1983, Sampson took the NBA by storm, averaging 21.0 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks per game in his first season, en route to Rookie of the Year honors. He would be joined by fellow bigman Hakeem Olajuwon the following year, where the two would form the “Twin Towers” that bought Houston to the NBA Finals in 1986.
17. Blake Griffin, 2010-11
Before Blake Griffin, the Clippers had made the playoffs just four times since their move to LA, and had won just one playoff series. That all began to change when Griffin came along—he averaged 22.5 points, 12.1 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game during his first NBA season. Chris Paul came along the following year, and the Clippers became a regular playoff team for the first time in franchise history.
16. Wes Unseld, 1968-69
Unseld was one of the great rebounders in NBA history, and his best rebounding season was his first. As a rookie, he averaged a whopping 18.2 boards and a solid 13.8 points per game. He also became the second rookie in NBA history to win MVP honors.
15. Bernard King, 1977-78
Had it not been for a series of knee injuries that ravaged his career, Bernard King might have gone down as one of the NBA’s all-time great players. His career started in a big way with the Nets in the 1977-78 season, during which he put up 24.2 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. The 9.5 rebounds per game were the best of King’s Hall of Fame career.
14. Earl Monroe, 1967-68
“Earl the Pearl” is one of just 14 NBA players to have his number retired by multiple teams; it was retired by the Bullets/Wizards for the his early career dominance, and by the Knicks for his contributions to the 1973 NBA championship team. Monroe’s poise with the Bullets was on full display in his first NBA season: He averaged 24.3 points per game and received Rookie of the Year honors.
13. Allen Iverson, 1996-97
At just 21 years old, Iverson was well on his way to becoming an icon. He won Rookie of the Year with the Sixers while averaging a whopping 23.5 points and 7.5 assists per game, playing with a passion rarely seen on an NBA court. Perhaps even more impressive than these stats was his crossover on Michael Jordan—the moment where it became clear Iverson was destined to be a legend.
12. Elvin Hayes, 1968-69
After being selected No. 1 overall by the San Diego Rockets in the 1968 draft, Hayes wowed the entire NBA, showing off the potent scoring and backboard-grabbing that would make him one of the game’s best all-around big men. In his first year, Hayes led the league in minutes, field goals, field goal attempts, total points, and points per game, and averaged a whopping 28.4 points and 17.1 rebounds per game.
11. Larry Bird, 1979-80
The Larry Bird/Magic Johnson rivalry re-shaped and revitalized an NBA that badly needed both. At the time, many NBA playoff games were aired on tape delays, and the league was clearly behind both the NFL and MLB in terms of popularity. That all changed with Bird and Johnson, sports’ most mesmerizing matchup for over a decade.
In the 1979-80 season, both players became superstars the second they hit the NBA court. In Bird’s case, he averaged 21.3 points and 10.4 rebounds per game for the Celtics in his first season there. The league hasn’t looked back since.
10. Tim Duncan, 1997-98
Few teams could ask to be as lucky as the Spurs were in getting Tim Duncan. They’ve missed the playoffs just once since the start of the ‘90s—when they went 20-62 in the 1996-97 season. Thankfully, they wound up with the No. 1 overall pick that year: future Hall of Famer Tim Duncan.
From day one, Duncan looked like he would be a legend. He played in all 82 games as a rookie, averaging 21.1 points, 11.9 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks per game. With Duncan’s help, the Spurs went from the third-worst team in the NBA to the fifth-best in just one year.
9. David Robinson, 1989-90
After serving in the Navy for two years, “The Admiral” finally made his NBA debut in 1989—two years after the Spurs drafted him first overall. Robinson proved to be very much worth the wait: He averaged 23.9 points, 12.0 rebounds, and a whopping 3.9 blocks per game in his first NBA season, earning All-Star and All-NBA nods along the way. Any rumblings that Robinson might be rusty after two years away from the game were squashed pretty quickly.
8. Elgin Baylor, 1958-59
When the Minneapolis Lakers drafted Elgin Baylor first overall in 1958, the franchise was in danger of extinction. They had just finished a league-worst 19-53, and were struggling to keep attendance up. Minneapolis convinced Baylor to come out of school early by paying him $20,000—in 2018 dollars, that’s about $172,000.
He accepted, and the investment proved worthwhile: Baylor averaged 24.9 points and 15.0 rebounds in his first of 11 All-Star seasons, and took the Lakers to the NBA Finals just one year after they were the worst team in the league. Attendance increased and the team remained financially solvent. If it weren’t for Baylor, the Lakers may have gone the way of the Chicago Stags and the Cleveland Rebels as early NBA franchises that went under.
7. Walt Bellamy, 1961-62
The No. 1 overall pick for the Chicago Packers (now the Washington Wizards) came flying out of the gate, averaging a Chamberlain-esque 31.6 points and 19.0 rebounds per game. Bellamy did all of this with efficiency—he shot a league-best .519 from the field as one of the game’s best big men.
6. Michael Jordan, 1984-85
Jordan made the Blazers regret taking Sam Bowie ahead of him from the get-go. “His Airness” instantaneously became the league’s greatest scorer; he led the league in points scored as a rookie and averaged 28.2 points per game, in the first of his 11 scoring titles. Jordan’s performance helped spur an 11-win improvement for the Bulls, who would make their first playoff appearance in four seasons thanks in large part to his scoring capabilities. The Blazers never missed the playoffs once under Jordan’s watch.
5. Shaquille O’Neal, 1993-94
Shaquille O’Neal helped catapult the Orlando Magic to relevance when he was drafted first overall in 1992. He averaged 23.9 points, 13.9 rebound, and 3.5 blocks per game as a rookie in 1992-93, which helped the team reach their first .500 record in franchise history. They drafted Penny Hardaway the following year, and began an impressive three-year stretch that included a trip to the 1995 NBA Finals.
4. Magic Johnson, 1979-80
Few rookies in the history of sports have had the impact on their teams that Magic Johnson had in 1980. Johnson carried the Lakers to an NBA title in 1980, their first in eight years, and took home NBA Finals MVP honors along the way—he remains the only rookie in NBA history to win Finals MVP. This would also be the first of five championships for the “Showtime” Lakers during the 1980s.
3. Oscar Robertson, 1960-61
Robertson’s triple-double average in the 1961-62 season was long thought to be one of basketball’s most unbreakable feats, until Russell Westbrook topped it last season. That same year, he averaged 30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 11.4 assists per game. It remains one of the most impressive seasons in NBA history.
But what a lot of people don’t realize about Robertson was that he came within decimals of averaging a triple-double multiple times, starting in his rookie year with the Cincinnati Royals. That year, he averaged 30.5 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 9.7 assists per game. He led the league in assists that year, and ran away with Rookie of the Year honors.
2. Kareem Abdul Jabbar, 1969-70
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar—or Lew Alcindor, as he was known back then—went from being the star of John Wooden’s UCLA basketball teams to being one of the NBA’s best players in no time. Abdul-Jabbar led the NBA in scoring during his first season, the first of three consecutive scoring titles.
1. Wilt Chamberlain, 1959-60
Scoring 37 points and grabbing 27 rebounds in one game would mark a solid career performance for even the greatest basketball players. Wilt Chamberlain averaged these stats as a rookie.
After a fantastic college career at Kansas and a year with the Harlem Globetrotters, Chamberlain became the NBA’s most dominant player, averaging 37.6 points and 27.0 rebounds per game as a rookie for the Philadelphia Warriors. His points per game total set an NBA record at the time, one that has only been bested three times since—all by Chamberlain himself, in the three seasons that followed. Chamberlain also set a record with his 27.0 rebounds per game, only to top it in the following season. Wilt was unsurprisingly voted league MVP that season—the first rookie to accomplish this feat.
In the years that followed, he had seasons where he averaged 38.4, 50.4, 44.8, and 34.7 points. Reading Wilt’s stats from the early ‘60s is like looking at NBA 2K stats when your sliders are turned all the way up. They seem truly unreal, and it’s safe to say that they will never be accomplished again.