The voting results were interesting with this one... As a couple of players were selected, despite lackluster support. I think It was a for a large part on the basis of the voters essentially all being on the same page when it comes to recognizing the best young fellas in this league; Meaning in the end there were no real surprises here....

I went with the whole "modern day era" selection criteria, catering more so to the current trend of today's subtle push towards pointlessness basketball... That being said, in the end there's pretty much always going to be one or two smaller guys (guards) who run around and bounce, score and pass it and shit... And then a few slightly bigger guys (forwards) who wait for those passes, set screens and pin downs, clean up the trash ass bricks bouncing off the glass and get dragged occasionally for trying to hard to be like the smaller dudes who run and pass and shoot and all that but are just way better at it. 

We take a look at the two All-NSL Rookie teams for the 2019-2020 season and know that this class in particular is showing a lot of promise for hopefully producing some legitimate veteran/superstar talent who will both shape the game and also usher in the new generation!

All-NSL Rookie 1st team

 

G - R.J Barrett - LA Clippers

G - Ja Morant - New Orleans Pelicans

F - Michael Porter Jnr - Denver Nuggets

F - Brandon Clarke - Washington Wizards

F - Zion Williamson - Milwaukee Bucks

 

R.J was the lead vote getter here and it wasn't close, a distant second was of course MPJ. Interesting given MPJ was awarded rookie of the year only weeks ago, which to some may have been a slight surprise. Perhaps everyone dove a little deeper this go around and recognizedwho may have impacted their team more when it actually mattered. 

Ja got the nod over the late surging Coby white despite virtually the same season averages. Clarke of course a worthy recipient given he along with R.J; Being the only rookies to boast the fact they provided quality minutes down the stretch for contenders deep in the post season.

 

Zion was a bit of a surprise.... Yeah sure he sat for a long stretch to start the season but we all expected him back and we all expected him to unleash the glitch on the league. 14/6/2 in 30 mins as essentially the ONLY option outside of SGA for the bucks.... When i look at the names he beat out in P.J/Hunter/Rui etc.... Maybe its just the simple case of slim pickings down at the local when last drinks gets called... Except this time I guess we'll remember his name. 

 

All-NSL Rookie 2nd Team v

 

G - Coby White - Denver Nuggets

G - Jarrett Culver -  Brooklyn Nets

F -  DeAndre Hunter - Atlanta Hawks

F - P.J Washington - Orlando Magic 

F - Rui Hachimura - Utah Jazz

 

All the usual suspects. The only semi-"snubs" you could argue would maybe be Luka (non hot mum) given his late season push and solid contribution to the burning dumpster fire that was the Sixers dropping those prime era MJ point totals everyone raves about.

 

White took a few rookie of the week awards whenever MPJ was ineligible every second week so the case could be made he should've got in over a guy like Ja... Culver gets some love despite Brooklyn's bizarre spiral into the abyss... Hunter has changed colours recently but was highly sought after and for good reason; Skies the limit for that kid and he got a cool ass name. 

 

P.J was untouchable according to the Magic. Talent for days and he could be something special but right now cant play a lick of defence and isn't what you would call an elite athletic specimen. Time will tell... Utah kind of sailed off into the sunset literally one week into pre season or whatever when Boogie obliterated his knee. Apparently they have this kid Rui but who's pretty good at hoop, his role is a little sporadic at the moment with Love and Favors demanding the lion share of front court minutes... Perhaps management starts to look forward instead of down at the ground in front of them.