🏀 5x5 | Royce Webb

🏀 5x5 | Royce Webb

8 NBA Rookies Crushing It — and 5 Lottery Picks Who Aren’t

Rookie breakouts and the biggest disappointments — what advanced stats & video show

Jeremias Engelmann's avatar
Jeremias Engelmann
Nov 24, 2025
∙ Paid
Cooper Flagg, VJ Edgecombe, and Kon Knueppel (Gunnar Word/Michael Reaves/Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)


We are about a month into the NBA season, and this class is generating a lot of buzz, with some rookies looking a lot better than advertised — but some of the most hyped prospects, not so much.

Here’s are my current rankings, factoring in where they were picked in the draft:

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Jeremias Engelmann's avatar
A guest post by
Jeremias Engelmann
Basketball analyst. Creator of ESPN's Real Plus-Minus. Formerly with the Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks
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