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By this time next week, all rookies have played at least 20 games, officially marking a quarter of the 2021-22 NBA season. This will provide us with a reasonable sample size to start forming some more specific opinions on the first-year players we have observed for several weeks. So far, we have learned that the NBA curriculum in 2021 is quite in-depth because we won the second round draft picks of Ayo Dosunmu and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl at the beginning of this season, which has had an impact on their team. The first round is also full of high-quality talents from top to bottom, which makes this season an exciting season to see all rookies. With this in mind, let us take a deeper look at this week's NBA rookie rankings.

Remember, these rankings only reflect the weekly performance of the rookies, not the collective performance of the season. These are not the Rookie of the Year rankings. After clarifying this point, let's take a look at the best rookies in the league. 

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After five of the first six games of the rookie season due to an ankle injury that caused him to miss the slow start of the season, Cunningham began to constantly show why he was selected as the No. 1 pick. In the past week, he did almost everything: scoring, rebounding, assists and defense, which led to some timely steals. His triple-double of 13 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists-the first in his young NBA career-was between LeBron James and Isaiah Stewart against the Lakers. The quarrel broke out, but Cunningham has a solid everything-peripheral games:  

As the season progressed, he showed great improvement, but his efficiency is still the area where he needs the most effort, because his shooting percentage this season is only 35%, and his three-point shooting percentage is 25.3%.

Gidi is one of the most noteworthy rookies of the season, and he quickly proved that he is a reliable backcourt partner with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The way he handles the game is pleasing to the eye because he never seems to be in a hurry or being accelerated by the defense, and when he holds the ball in his hand, he always maintains his composure-something that can't be said for many rookies. He He has been close to a triple-double many times during the game, which shows that he is likely to obtain these data regularly over time. But so far, his passing has been an outstanding gem of his game this season:

If his Thunder teammates turn his passes into assists more, he might easily get a double-double because he averages 11.5 potential assists per game, ranking 21st in the league.

Don't let those raw numbers fool you; Barnes' scoring may have declined this week, but he is still one of the most influential rookies on both ends of the class. There is also some background to Barnes’ recent decline in these statistics, mainly due to the return of Pascal Siakam. When Siakam was absent, the Raptors gave Barnes the green light to shoot every night, and he averaged 14.6 shots per night. Since Siakam's return, the number of shots dropped slightly to 10.6, which is expected. 

But Barnes still did an incredible job, even if his touches decreased. Except for the two games last week, his shooting percentage was 12% and 27%, and his efficiency is still the same as at the beginning of the season. But Barnes's ability is more than just throwing the ball into the basket. His performance against the Sacramento Kings is a perfect example. In that game, he made 1 of 8 shots, but still got 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal and 1 block. He ended the game with a plus-minus 2 plus-minus, which shows that although his scoring was not good, he still had a positive impact on the team in that victory.

Watching Green's game is like watching X-Men characters still trying to use their power. Green's conditions are there-athletic ability, explosive power, organizational ability and his data. However, he did this in an inefficient way and did not allow Houston to win the game. But with every game you watch, he has taken positive baby steps in his development. Look at these three scenes from last week:

He was doing these things at the beginning of the season, but it was not that controlled and often led to a bad ending, either by the defender's block or by trying to complete the imbalance and then missed the shot. He is getting better at knowing where to put the ball, so this is not a doomed shot attempt, and he is also using his explosive power to get rid of the defender on the way to the basket. Look at that possession against the Celtics, see how quickly he got rid of Marcus Smart, and then see how many courts he covered in just a few short steps. Therefore, although Green's game still has many imperfect aspects, he has made progress in every game. 

Therefore, Saggs' performance in the first quarter against the Brooklyn Nets in the past week was ridiculous. He scored 17 points on 6 of 7 shots and 4 of 4 three-pointers.

As the game progressed, his form dropped significantly, eventually scoring 21 points, but it is welcome to see that Suggs is capable of defending. Especially because his shooting percentage this season is only 25%, and his shooting percentage is 32.4%. But he is also affecting the game in other ways, so when his shots have not dropped, he is still defensive.

Wagner's week began with this key dunk in the defeat of the Knicks:

Franz Wagner. He put @OrlandoMagic in front of the NBA league pass. Watch here: https://t.co/5QqkBhf1W0 pic.twitter.com/8N0gghCtY1

...In the end, he had to defend Chris Middleton in back-to-back games. In these games, he did a good job defensively and didn't get burned. This is not the most exciting end of the week for Wagner, especially since he made 1 of 13 shots in the two games against the Milwaukee Bucks, but when you are so focused on not letting the Bucks roast you-they are in After an increase of 51 points (!!!), it did indeed happen in the second meeting-offense tends to take a back seat. But Wagner's first two games this week are more illustrative of what we are used to seeing on both ends of the rookie court.   

Dosunmu has not received much attention for most of the season, but if you have been watching the Bulls game, then when he participates in the game, you will see his impact. He has acted as a spark plug for the Chicago team many times, hit a three-pointer in time and became a defensive pest. In terms of the depth of the Bulls this season, this shows that coach Billy Donovan insisted on keeping Dosunmu in the rotation when the lineup started to get healthy. Every time he signs in, he will leave his fingerprints in the game. After becoming a second-round pick, the Bulls have always been a welcome surprise.  

Robinson Earle has been in and out of the Thunder's lineup this season, but he has shown that his position in the rotation is not important-he will still take advantage of this opportunity. In the game against the Eagles, he started his second double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds. In the previous game, he played off the bench against the Celtics, and in a night of 13 points and 8 rebounds, he was not far from this goal again. Throughout the season, he has been very stable and is just one of the many young and talented players that OKC has.

I have been talking about Sengun’s compliments in these rankings for several weeks, and this is no exception. Look at this absurd pass, which was his seventh of the night:

Alperen Sengun's 7th dime tonight. pic.twitter.com/foaXswFBpD

As the Rockets lose more and more, coach Stephen Silas will have to consider Sengun in the starting lineup at some point. This kid can give you about 10 points every night. He can also provide about 7 rebounds and 4 assists. If he passes the ball outside the paint, the latter will help others on the court get open. 

After a very strong start to the season, Duarte's offensive performance has slowed down. He missed the first two games this week due to a sore right shoulder, and then came off the bench in the last two games of the week. But this has more to do with coach Rick Carlisle's attempt to try the starting lineup, rather than a reflection of Duarte's performance, because the Indiana team did not start the season 8-11. Regardless of the rotation decision, Duarte has no problem as a starter or as a substitute, because his dribbling and defensive abilities are useful in any situation. 

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