With the National Basketball Association (NBA) season set to return on July 30. Multiple storylines and questions are about to be continued and answered. One in particular is the question: Who is the Rookie of the Year?

This year’s rookie class has been full of surprises. Multiple newbies immediately made a positive impact in their ball clubs despite being new to the league. The highly drafted rookies like RJ Barret, Rui Hachimura and Coby White proved why they were selected early in the drafted. Late first-round picks and second-round picks like Brandon Clarke and Eric Paschall surprised everyone by having a stellar performance despite being overlooked in the draft.

But when it comes down to it, out of all the rookies that had a stellar play In their first year in the league. Who is the top Rookie? Who should take home the hardware for being the top newbie in the league? Who is the Rookie the Year? Here are my picks for the top 3 candidates to win the ROY trophy.

DISCLAIMER: This list is based off individual numbers, impact on the team and personal opinion.

Number 3 – Zion Williamson

It may come as a surprise to see “Zhanos” as the player that has the lowest chance to win the ROY title in this list considering the hype surrounding him. But is it really surprising?

In his rookie year, Williamson suffered a torn right meniscus he suffered last October, which forced him to only play 19 games before the NBA had to shut down the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But in those 19 games, he posted impressive averages with 23.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists while shooting 58.9 percent in the field. He also gave us lots of jaw dropping highlights like his alley-oop dunk with Ja Morant during the Rising Stars games in the All-Star weekend and of course, who can forget his bully-ball moments on Kyle Kuzma and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

But despite all his impressive highlights and numbers, his case for the ROY award are slim simply because he only played 19 GAMES. He didn’t have any impact on the chances of his team making the playoffs until last February.

Unfortunately for Williamson, the season awards are going to be based off performances up until March 11 only. If they counted the restart, he could have probably increased his odds by leading the New Orleans Pelicans (28-36) into the playoffs.

Number 2 – Kendrick Nunn

If you don’t know who Kendrick Nunn is, I suggest you open another tab and do your research before continuing to read this part of the article. If you do, then you know why he is second in this list.

The dynamic combo-guard from Chicago, Illinois went undrafted during the 2018 draft. But he has proven his worth after the Miami Heat picked him up and gave him the opportunity to run the show as the point guard of the squad.

Unlike Williamson, Nunn has played 62 games as a starter and averaged 15.6 points, 2.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists. He is also ranked second among rookies in scoring, field goals made and in three-pointers.

His impact to Heat should not be overlooked as well as he played vital role as a supporting cast to their all-stars Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. This gave them the fourth seed with 41-24 record before the shutdown.

Nunn has been consistent all season long and has proven that he can hold his own against some of the best floor generals in the league. If you don’t think he deserves the award, well here’s why he thinks he deserves it more than anyone else.

“I’m Rookie of the Year. I think people will say that [Morant] is Rookie of the Year, but I don’t believe it. The most value should be in the wins. And we’re both starting guards on teams, and our team has been holding it down. We’re a playoff team, so go ahead and give that Rookie of the Year to Kendrick Nunn.” Nunn said in an interview with Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Number 1  – Ja Morant

And of course, number one in this list is Ja Morant. Is it really a conversation?

Morant has checked every box needed to win the ROY title. From individual numbers to impact to the team, the second-overall pick of the draft has proven that he is a problem in the league.

The Murray State University product is averaging 17.6 points, 6.9 assists and 3.5 rebounds and has played a total of 59 games and was a starter in all the games he played in. He is the main reason why the Memphis Grizzles is the eighth-seed out in the West with a 32-33 record.

Last March, Morant was named as the Unanimous Rookie of the Year by ESPN after a survey was given to all local, national and international NBA writers and reporters. He received a total of 350, while Williamson had a total of 164 points.

Morant’s game elevated the performance of his teammates which gave him the help he needed to give the Memphis Grizzles a competitive 2019-2020 season.

Do you agree with this list? Give us your thoughts on the comments section below!