Scottie Barnes, Evan Mobley, Cade Cunningham enter NBA All-Rookie team

After a highly competitive rookie season, it is hard to come up with a clear-margin decision on who the Rookie of the Year should be. It was not because there was not enough quality, since the 2021 NBA Draft class was better than expected. Instead, it was because there were so many players who could receive the first and second honors.

Usually, the result of the NBA All-Rookie team is announced during the Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs. However, the NBA finally announced the All-Rookie team on Wednesday night, just before the Dallas Mavericks started playing against the Golden State Warriors. There were a few surprises and some big snubs.

Scottie Barnes of the Toronto Raptors, Evan Mobley of the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Cade Cunningham of the Detroit Pistons all made the first team.

With Barnes, Mobley, and Cunningham leading the way with 100 votes each, this draft class has a shot to leave a mark on the league. Cunningham, who was picked first overall, led all rookies this season by averaging 17.4 points per game. Mobley led all rookies in both rebounds per game (8.3) and blocks per game (per game) (1.7).

Barnes was named Rookie of the Year because he did almost everything for a Raptors team that was on the rise. Before the 20-year-old athlete was titled the winner on TNT, each of these players seemed like they could win the NBA's Rookie of the Year award. The NBA said that it was the closest race for ROY in the league's history.

Mobley is a fit for NBA's future, and he might have defeated Barnes in the race if he had not hurt his ankle and missed the last five games of the season. Cunningham had a similar start. It took him a while to get going, but in March he put up numbers that no rookie had done before besides Michael Jordan or Oscar Robertson.

Franz Wagner, a wing for the Orlando Magic, and Jalen Green, a guard for the Houston Rockets, showed right away that they were capable players after being picked second and third overall.

Herb Jones, a forward for the New Orleans Pelicans, had a breakout season and was considered for All-Defensive. He is the first in the second team with 23 votes.

Josh Giddey fails to enter first team

Josh Giddey did not make the first team, regardless of how well he played for the Oklahoma City Thunder. The 24-year-old player had recorded four triple-doubles. Giddey played 10 fewer games than others who made the first team, which showed that voters put a high value on availability and dependability.

Davion Mitchell of the Sacramento Kings and Jonathan Kuminga of the Golden State Warriors are two players who were expected to make it into the team but did not. Even though both players were strong candidates for the second team, they just did not make it.

With the Warriors having a roster full of talented players, Kuminga's 16.9 minutes a game as a rookie were certainly a contributing factor. Mitchell, on the other hand, spent most of the season behind Tyrese Haliburton and De'Aaron Fox, which had been expected since before the season started.