Before NBA rookies enter the NBA, they usually enter from the college league, of course, there are also overseas leagues, or high school students jump directly into the class. But in any case, the league intensity they experience is not at all the same level compared to the NBA.
For the vast majority of players, the rookie season is a season of adaptation, and the team will not let them shoulder the heavy responsibilities in the first place. So their careers tend to be on the rise, right up to the top. For example, Kobe Bryant jumped from a high school and played as a substitute for 2 years, such as Nowitzki's rookie season averaging only 8.2 points per game.
Of course, there are also some players, physically gifted, who can adapt to the intensity of the NBA's confrontation before entering the NBA, and they often debut at the core of the team. For example, Chamberlain, Jordan, O'Neal, Duncan and others, their debut is the absolute core of the team, of course, they are also continuing to improve.
There are also some players who debut at their peak, and their best season is the rookie season. One is to get unlimited firing rights in the bad team in the rookie season, and on the other hand, it is too early to become famous and be expected too high by the team. After the rookie season, after the team's attention was reduced, the individual performance began to decline continuously.
Let's take a look at the players who are at the peak of their rookie season
< h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > V. Emeka Okafor</h1>
In 2004, the 2.08m center was selected by the Charlotte Bobcats (now the Hornets) with the second overall pick. In college, Okafor won the NCAA championship and won the 2003–04 NCAA Final Four MOP.
The 22-year-old Okafor showed excellent defensive ability in his rookie season, playing 73 games for the team in his rookie season, starting all of them, averaging 15.1 points and 10.9 rebounds per game in a season of double-doubles. At one point, he had a double-double in 19 consecutive games and a double-double in 47 games throughout his rookie season. This season, he also pushed Howard to win the best rookie and was selected for the all-rookie team.
In the second season, due to weight gain, he began to suffer from injuries, playing only 26 games, averaging 13.2 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. The third season recovered, averaging 14.4 points and 11.3 boards per game. Although he averaged a double-double in the first five seasons of his career, his rookie season was a career-high in scoring.
In 2019, Okafor signed with South Korean KBL league side Ulsan Hyundai Helios.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > IV. Jalil Okafor</h1>
In 2015, the third overall pick in the first round was selected by the 76ers, and the 76ers were also interesting in those years, in 2013, center Noel was selected for a season, in 2014, center Embiid was selected, two seasons off, and in 2015, center Okafor was selected.
Okafor was also famous in college, and with his excellent height and weight, he was almost insoluble in college. During his freshman season at Duke University, he was elected the best newcomer in the United States, was selected to the first team of the best team in the United States, and set a series of Duke college freshman records, such as the number of doubles scored, the total number of rebounds, the number of offensive rebounds, and the number of dunks.
As a traditional interior, Okafor, who has excellent basket attacking skills and a decent mid-range, is even considered the next Duncan. In his rookie season, thanks to the 76ers, there was nothing he could play, and Okafor became the team's top scorer. He averaged 17.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game and shot 50.8 percent from the field.
It looked like he would be a center with a bright future, but in his third season, he was abandoned by the 76ers and moved to other teams. The average score per game has not been doubled, and the average playing time per game has not been 20 minutes, which can be said to be worse. And he's only 25 now, 22 when he was abandoned, what caused him to be abandoned so quickly.
His weaknesses are also evident, with slow movement and easy targeting on the defensive end when encountered in the block. These are not the most important, the most important thing is that he looks like he can get high scores, but the team's offensive efficiency is dragged down by him, and he lacks the ability to lead the team, it can be said that his data is brushed. On the offensive end, once he takes the ball, he is basically separated from the team's offensive system, and his teammates can basically only watch. Okafor's sense of play and speed of delivery and accuracy of the ball have always been poor, which is an important reason for his constant abandonment.
In 2020, the Pistons signed Okafor on a 2-year contract.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > three, Michael Carter-Williams</h1>
His name is quite cattle and a collection of Michael. Jordan, Carter, Williams, 1.98m tall point guard. The 76ers selected McAvoy with the 11th pick in 2013, just as the 76ers lacked a starting point guard. McAvoy's rookie season was quite exciting, especially in the first game, facing the Heat of the Big Three.
On October 31, 2013, McAvoy made its debut against the miami heat, a championship team led by the Big Three. McAvoy had a quasi-quadruple-double of 22 points, 12 assists, nine steals and seven rebounds, and most importantly, the 76ers won the game 114-110, and he made only one turnover. No rookie has made this appearance since 1985.
In his rookie season, McAvoy had five triple-doubles, played in 70 games, started all of them, and averaged 16.7 points, 6.2 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game, which was the best rookie of the year.
But this was already the pinnacle of his career, and the data has remained on a downward trend ever since. His disadvantage is that there is no target for shooting, and due to the average physical confrontation ability, the breakthrough finishing ability is poor, and the assist error is relatively high. Shooting the highest percentage of one season was 45.2 percent, seven seasons average 40.3 percent, and three-point shooting was 25.6 percent. He averaged 4.4 career assists per game, but 2.4 turnovers and an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.8.
In the second season, he was sent to the Bucks by the 76ers, followed by the Bulls, Hornets, Rockets, Magic, and McAvoy, who was not yet 30 years old, had long since lost its peak.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > ii, O.J. Mayo</h1>
In high school, Mayo was the first high school student in the United States at the time, averaging 29 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists per game in high school, leading the varsity team to win the state championship for three consecutive years, and he also won the title of State Basketball For three consecutive years, and was considered the top quarterback of the future.
In 2008, Mayo was selected by the Timberwolves with the 3rd pick in the first round and was subsequently traded to the Grizzlies. In the rookie season, Mayo was reused, playing all 82 games, and all started, averaging the first time per game, second only to Gay in the number of shots per game, nearly double that of Gasol Jr. and Conley. In 2008-09, Mayo averaged 18.5 points per game, the Grizzlies second only to Gay's second-place scorer, but it was also the peak of his career.
In the second season, the average points per game dropped to 17.5 points per game, and has since fallen all the way. Under the system created by The Mavericks (now Lone Ranger) Carlisle, he found a second spring, averaging 15.3 points per game and shooting a career-high 40.7% from three-point range. But then joined the Bucks, the stats slid all the way down, falling down the stairs of his home in March 2016, resulting in a broken leg and missing the rest of the season.
On July 2, 2016, he was disqualified by the NBA League for two years for violating the drug control agreement.
No team has since given him a contract, and in April 2018, Mayo joined the Puerto Rico League and was cut in June. In October 2018, he joined the Taiwan SBL League, in May 2019, NBL team Hunan Yongsheng signed Mayo, and in March 2020, CBA Liaoning signed Mayo.
On the one hand, Mayo has a strong projection ability, especially the three-point ability is outstanding. But as a quarterback, 1.96 meters tall and relatively thin, there is no advantage in the same position, and the first step of his breakthrough is not fast enough to break through with speed. As a point guard, the big picture is not enough, and the playing style is more selfish. Worse still is Mayo's personality, drug use, locker room conflicts, which ruined his career.
If he had been able to continue to stay with the Mavericks under Carlisle, perhaps his career in the NBA would have been longer.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" >. Evans</h1>
Like Mayo, in 2019, Evans was disqualified by the NBA league for two years for violating the drug agreement, which means that the 31-year-old Evans is likely to bid farewell to the NBA.
In 2009, Evans was selected by the Kings with the fourth overall pick, and Evans was already quite outstanding in college, being the MVP of the 2009 American League Championship, the Rookie of the Year in the American League, the first team of the American League Of the Year, and one of the final candidates for the 2008-09 Wooden Award and the Oscar Robertson Award.
In the rookie season, Evans carried the team's offensive and organizational banner, playing point guard with a height of 1.98 meters and a weight of 100 kilograms. The vast majority of point guards facing the league in this position have height and weight advantages. He played in 72 games in his rookie season, all of which started, averaging 20.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game, making him the team's leading scorer and assist king. He is also following Oscar. Robertson, Jordan, and James were 20+5+5 in their fourth rookie season.
In his rookie season, he was undoubtedly elected the best rookie, and in the second season, due to the influence of plantar fasciitis, coupled with the team's need to play him as a point guard, he played 53 games in the season, and since then the average points per game has dropped to 17.8 points. Since then, the Kings have asked him to play a small forward, it can be said that the position has changed, and the only real point guard is the rookie season. Coupled with injuries, Evans deteriorated, his stats declined, and he was abandoned by the Kings in 2013.
Evans played a 1.98m point guard, he did not have that height and weight advantage, but the speed and projection ability were his shortcomings at the time, and it was easy to be targeted, making it more difficult for him to play small forward against higher and heavier players. So if Evans hadn't been in the Kings, but on a stable, well-coached team like the Spurs, maybe his career would have been very different.
In the 2017-18 season, it was difficult to find a second spring in the Grizzlies, averaging nearly the rookie season, reaching 19.4 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.2 assists, and then joined the Pacers as a substitute, and the data dropped to an average of 10.2 points per game.
In the future, Evans may have to look for opportunities in leagues outside the NBA.
Sometimes, the times make a player, and sometimes, the changes of the times will ruin a player.