Report Card Grades for Every NBA Team's Rookie Class After 1 Month

There's an old adage in the NBA that says "if you're not selling wins, you're selling hope." For many teams, hope comes in the form of rookies. They're basically human embodiments of potential—pathways to better days.

A month is a short time in a player's career, but we've at least gotten some sense of how much hope this season's class has inspired.

For completeness' sake, we'll list any rookies who've played at all, plus a few who haven't. Not everyone will get writeups or factor heavily into the grade, as we'll focus mainly on the guys drafted highest and/or currently earning minutes. In situations where teams barely use their rookies or fill out end-of-roster spots with two-way talents ticketed for the G League, we'll try to keep things fair by measuring contributions against expectations.

Let's take a look at how every team's first-year players are faring.

Rookie Class: Zaccharie Risacher, Keaton Wallace, Nikola Đurišić

Risacher leads all rookies in total minutes, but other than a top-five ranking in points scored and steals among first-year players, the No. 1 overall pick isn't lapping the field statistically. It's notable that he has a starting role locked down for a decent Atlanta Hawks team, a testament to his well-rounded game and advanced feel for his age.

A smooth stroke hasn't produced results from beyond the arc yet, but Risacher shoots an easy ball off the catch and should develop into a real weapon as a floor-spacer. Couple that with a solid handle, timely cutting, a sneaky-good left hand and a nose for snatching steals in the passing lanes—all of which were on display during a 33-point effort against the New York Knicks on Nov. 6—and Risacher is living up to his billing as a multifaceted contributor with plenty of upside.

Wallace, 25 and undrafted, made the team out of camp. He hasn't shot it well but has logged nearly 200 minutes as a reserve guard. Ðurišić suffered a foot injury in July and has yet to take the floor.

Grade: B+

Rookie Class: Baylor Scheierman, Anton Watson

The last pick of the first round, Scheierman came billed as a slick left-handed shooter who could also do a little bit off the dribble when run off the three-point line. The 24-year-old wing got virtually no early chances to show off his skills on a loaded, defending-champion Boston Celtics roster, logging just six total minutes before a trip to the G League on Nov. 5.

He's looked better against weaker competition, averaging 23.3 points, 9.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists while 47.7 percent from long range in his first four G League appearances.

That's an encouraging enough stat line to suggest the Creighton product could eventually contribute as a reserve later this year, possibly following 2023 first-round pick Jordan Walsh's path from G League games as a rookie to spot minutes as a sophomore. That's a reasonable outcome for a No. 30 pick.

Grade: C+

Rookie Class: Jaylen Martin, Yongxi Cui

Undrafted in 2023, Martin has only seen action in two games since earning a two-way deal in camp. He made 16 G League appearances for the Westchester Knicks last year, averaging 9.7 points and 3.2 rebounds. His work for the Long Island Nets this season hasn't been much different: 10.7 points per game on 40.7 percent shooting.

On a Brooklyn roster with every incentive to hand its youth maximum minutes, Martin still doesn't feel like a priority. He has a long way to go in his journey to stick as an NBA player.

Just the seventh Chinese player to suit up in the NBA, Cui has logged just one minute since October. Cui is on a two-way contract and was never expected to make a major impact. Perhaps Brooklyn will give both Cui and Martin longer looks after clearing some vets out of the rotation via trade later this season.

Grade: D

Rookie Class: Tidjane Salaün, KJ Simpson

Viewed by some as a reach at No. 6, Salaün has looked mostly overmatched in the early going. That probably should have been the expectation considering he was 18 when the Charlotte Hornets drafted the 6'9" forward out of France—doubly so in the wake of multiple injuries that have often forced Salaün into minutes at center.

You can see the outlines of a floor-stretching profile in Salaün's early shot data, as he ranks in the 95th percentile among bigs in three-point attempt frequency. But the ball simply isn't going in from long range, or from anywhere else for that matter. He's converting 28.3 percent of his attempts from the field on the season. We won't be too hard on him, though. Salaün has the frame of a powerful combo forward and a long runway ahead.

Simpson faces an uphill battle as an undersized point guard (listed at just 6'0") whose collegiate track record as a three-point shooter was, to put it charitably, spotty. He's appeared in just one game for the Hornets but has averaged 15.0 points and 3.7 assists across three G League appearances.

Grade: C

Rookie Class: Matas Buzelis

Buzelis' work with the G League Ignite last season raised concerns that the springy forward might struggle to knock down perimeter shots. He's since followed up last year's 22.2 percent conversion rate with an encouraging 34.8 percent figure through his first 15 games with the Chicago Bulls.

Eight makes in his first 23 attempts means we have to couch that accuracy with a low-volume caveat, but Buzelis is so far answering one of the biggest questions about his game. Unfortunately, he's missing about three out of every four two-pointers and has three times as many turnovers as assists in the early going.

A good open-floor athlete who can grab and go, Buzelis struggles to create separation as a ball-handler on offense and gets himself into trouble by attacking without a clear plan. He can sky with an open runway in front of him, and that athleticism also translates to shot-blocking on the other end. Ultimately, though, he's looked like an oversized guard whose mobility doesn't have a lot of practical applications just yet.

But hey, the three-ball looks good, and Buzelis is playing with visible confidence. That's a start.

Grade: C+

Rookie Class: Jaylon Tyson, Luke Travers

As you might imagine, the East-leading Cleveland Cavaliers haven't had much time available for their first-year players. Tyson, picked 20th, and Travers, 56th in 2022, have combined for a grand total of 102 minutes on the year.

Tyson is the more projectable prospect, a do-it-all wing who should scale well as his minutes increase. Billed as a multi-position defender at 6'6" who played point guard for a good chunk of his collegiate career, it's easy to imagine him as a rotation player on a good team—eventually.

So far, the Cavs have hardly used Tyson in non-blowout situations. Once Max Strus returns from injury, what little playing time was available may disappear altogether.

Grade: C

Rookie Class: Melvin Ajinca, Jazian Gortman

Ajinca is still playing in France after the Dallas Mavericks selected him with the 51st pick, and Gortman has seen very little action after securing a two-way offer immediately after the team's preseason finale.

Gortman, undrafted in 2023 after playing for Overtime Elite, averaged 10.3 points in 20.5 minutes during preseason play. The game that might have earned him his current deal came early, as he put up 20 points in Dallas' preseason opener, flashing an aggressive scoring mindset while applying full-court pressure defensively.

A former five-star high school prospect, Gortman is an intriguing talent who calls to mind some poor man's Malik Monk comparisons. A Mavs team looking to contend doesn't have much use for him at the moment, but the 6'2" point guard might have a future in the league.

Grade: C-

Rookie Class: DaRon Holmes II, Trey Alexander, Spencer Jones, PJ Hall

Holmes was the lone high-profile first-year addition to the Denver Nuggets roster, and he tore his Achilles less than a month after coming off the board at No. 22—a selection that cost the Nugs the 28th and 56th picks, plus two future second-rounders.

Standing 6'9" with a 7'1" wingspan, Holmes was a consensus All-American and 20-point scorer in his final year at Dayton. He might have challenged for backup minutes behind Aaron Gordon as a rookie. His injury was a colossal bummer, particularly after Gordon went down with a calf strain earlier this month.

Alexander, Jones and Hall have barely played, and all were undrafted. That leaves the Nuggets with four rookies who haven't contributed at all. The injury to Holmes makes grading tricky, but nobody would argue Denver has gotten any help from its newbies.

Grade: D

Rookie Class: Ron Holland, Bobi Klintman, Daniss Jenkins

Jenkins has played three minutes since October, and Klintman has been out all year with a calf injury, which leaves No. 5 pick Ron Holland with the lion's share of the grade for the Detroit Pistons.

Unfortunately, Holland's most notable moment of the season came when he missed two free throws with one second left in a tie game against the Milwaukee Bucks. Had he made just one, the Pistons would have avoided overtime and the eventual loss, but both came up well short in what looked like a very nervous effort at the foul line.

To Holland's credit, he went 4-of-4 from the stripe in his next game and his shooting 85.0 percent overall. Let's assume that was a teaching moment and move on.

Foul shots aside, Holland has also struggled from the field and is hitting only 13.2 percent of his threes on the year. He's appeared in every game for the Pistons, though, and has leveraged his athleticism to pile up deflections and apply pressure to the defense. He's around the 70th percentile in steal rate and shooting fouls drawn per 100 possessions for his position.

Holland has an ideal big-wing frame, great athleticism and plays extremely hard. He hasn't helped yet, but he's shown flashes to suggest he'll get there.

Grade: B-

Rookie Class: Quinten Post, Reece Beekman

The Golden State Warriors typically try to cut costs by populating the end of the bench with two-way players, often rookies, whom they shuttle between the big club and their Santa Cruz G League affiliate.

That's been the case for both Post, picked 52nd, and Beekman, undrafted out of Virginia.

Post is a 7-footer who shot 42.9 percent from long range across his final two seasons at Boston College, a worthwhile gamble where he was selected. He's averaged 18.0 points and 10.7 boards in three G League outings, despite struggling with the skill that got him drafted. He's shooting only 19.0 percent from deep.

Beekman is averaging 22.0 points and 7.5 assists in the G League while showcasing the defense that helped him earn a roster spot in the first place.

This Warriors team is defined by its depth, which means these two are unlikely to ever see significant time in Golden State this season. Neither player has done much, but very little was expected.

Grade: C

Rookie Class: Reed Sheppard, Jack McVeigh

I'll cop to making some fairly outlandish predictions about Sheppard's potential to impact the Houston Rockets as a rookie, claims that ignored the roster glut putting a cap on his minutes.

The hype got away from us. Sheppard's 52.1 percent three-point shooting and historically elite defensive disruption at Kentucky haven't translated to reality at the NBA level, and he hasn't really had much of a chance to show them off in the first place.

Sheppard is eighth on the Rockets in minutes per game and looks nowhere close to cracking the starting lineup. That said, he's hitting 37.5 percent of his threes and had a stretch of four straight games with a steal from Nov. 10 to Nov. 15. His defensive activity even included a three-block game (in only 19 minutes) in a blowout win over the Bulls on Nov. 17.

Even if the stats haven't popped, it still feels like Sheppard's underwhelming start owes mostly to overblown expectations and a lack of opportunity. He can't help it that the Rockets already have an entire rotation's worth of young players who need minutes.

Patience will be key. Sheppard tore it up in Summer League and can still deliver on his pre-draft promise once he gets a shot at real playing time. This is no time to lose faith.

Grade: B

Rookie Class: Johnny Furphy, Tristen Newton, Enrique Freeman

Nothing to see here, as Furphy, the fifth pick of the second round, is averaging just 2.3 points per game across the seven contests he's played for the Indiana Pacers. Drafted as a 19-year-old, Furphy's limited playing time and nonexistent production are in line with expectations.

A 6'8" wing who played at Kansas but who developed at the Australian Institute of Sport, Furphy is a savvy passer and potentially switchable defender who'll need to prove he can knock down enough shots to keep defenders close. His youth gives him significantly more upside than either Newton or Freeman, both of whom played five collegiate seasons.

Injuries to Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith should result in Furphy getting longer looks, and it's noteworthy that his best game (seven points in eight minutes) came in a close loss to the Orlando Magic on Nov. 13. Prior to that contest, he hadn't cracked five minutes in any game.

Grade: D+

Rookie Class: Cam Christie

Drafted 46th as an 18-year-old out of Minnesota, Christie hasn't gotten a chance to see the floor at the NBA level yet. The LA Clippers are well-stocked with guards and wings, and other than a theoretically translatable outside shot, Christie doesn't feature many skills that are developed enough to help just yet.

He's the brother of Los Angeles Lakers guard Max, who was also drafted extremely young and has gradually developed into a fringe rotation piece in his third season. So the pedigree suggests Cam has a shot to stick in the NBA.

He averaged 15.0 points across his first five G League games, despite hitting under 30.0 percent of his threes.

Grade: C-

Rookie Class: Dalton Knecht, Bronny James, Armel Traoré

The question here is whether to penalize the Los Angeles Lakers for taking Bronny James at No. 55, a player most draft experts didn't believe warranted a selection at all.

Considering the expected value of a pick that low, the Lakers didn't sacrifice much by appeasing LeBron James and selecting his son. We'll call that part of L.A.'s grade a wash. Bronny isn't going to help or hurt any more than a typical No. 55 pick, particularly as he shuttles between the big club and the G League. He's worth the selection even if all it amounted to was an extension of goodwill toward LeBron.

Dalton Knecht, picked 17th, has already proved himself a steal by contributing heady play and incendiary shooting from deep. He's cracked the Lakers' starting lineup and contributes real spacing and smarts to the offense. His 37 points against the Utah Jazz on Nov. 19 are the most by any rookie this year, and his 9-of-12 effort in that game came complete with an MJ shrug.

With a real role on a team that should challenge for a playoff spot, the Tennessee product has an inside track to an All-Rookie spot.

That's a tremendous outcome for a No. 17 pick.

Grade: A+

Rookie Class: Zach Edey, Jaylen Wells, Yuki Kawamura, Cam Spencer

The Washington Wizards are the only other team to get double-digit starts out of multiple rookies, but that's a rebuilding operation that couldn't be more different than the situation with the Memphis Grizzlies.

Teams looking to climb back over the 50-win plateau after a gap year don't typically trust first-year players to this degree. Zach Edey and Jaylen Wells have simply been too good to keep off the floor.

Edey, picked ninth, came into the league with questions about his ability to survive in space defensively. The 7'4" behemoth has done well enough to stay on the floor in a significant role and is already elite on the offensive glass while amassing block and steal rates that rank above the 70th percentile at his position. Good touch at close range and an unblockable hook shot give Edey real offensive value as well. And if his 6-of-10 shooting from deep is in any way real, the Grizzlies will be ecstatic.

Wells is the surprise, a second-round wing whose spot-up shooting made him appear to be a one-dimensional prospect but whose total two-way game has him in line for All-Rookie consideration. Second-effort plays define his defensive game, and Wells can do enough on the ball to profile as more than a spacer as he develops. Even when Memphis gets healthy, he's going to have a real rotation role.

Grade: A

Rookie Class: Kel'el Ware, Pelle Larsson

Summer league observers would have been surprised to learn Larsson, not Ware, has had the biggest impact among Miami Heat rookies. Prior to the season, Ware's size and athleticism produced loads of highlights and hype, to the point that the No. 15 pick's potential to start next to Bam Adebayo was a real discussion.

Ware's length and bounce are undiminished, and he has a future in the league as (at least) a high-energy big. But Larsson, the 6'5" Swede picked 44th out of Arizona, is getting more minutes in the early going. That mostly owes to a 41.7 percent hit rate from downtown, along with Larsson's high-effort style. He's hard to screen and averages 3.4 deflections per 36 minutes on D, a figure that ranks behind only Jimmy Butler, Haywood Highsmith and Adebayo on the team (minimum 100 minutes).

Grade: B

Rookie Class: AJ Johnson, Tyler Smith, Liam Robbins

The Milwaukee Bucks have gotten next to nothing from No. 23 pick AJ Johnson, a project combo guard whose tools tantalized but whose obvious need for seasoning made him an oft-criticized choice by a team that needed cheap rotation help in the short term.

Johnson, 19, averaged just 2.8 points in 7.9 minutes for the NBL's Illawarra Hawks in the NBL prior to being drafted and has seen just eight minutes of playing time for the Bucks so far.

At least Smith, picked 33rd, offered a glimpse of what he could do with the G League Ignite last year. The 6'9" forward averaged 14.3 points and 5.3 rebounds in 22.5 minutes per game in 2023-24 but has seen little action with the Bucks and none with the Wisconsin Herd this year.

Milwaukee, hamstrung by the second apron and in dire need of rotation help, is getting none from its rookie class. That doesn't mean Johnson, in particular, has no future upside. But in the Bucks' specific circumstances, these rookie performances represent a significant failure.

Grade: F

Rookie Class: Rob Dillingham, Terrence Shannon Jr.

So much for Dillingham playing an X-factor role for Minnesota Timberwolves this season. When Minny gave up a 2031 first-rounder and a 2030 swap for the speedy, offensive-minded Kentucky guard, it seemed as if a major rotation gig was in the cards.

Maybe it would have been if Minnesota hadn't later added Donte DiVincenzo to the backcourt in the Karl-Anthony Towns trade. Then again, Dillingham's nearly nonexistent impact suggests it was a mistake to assume he was in line for minutes as a second-unit spark-plug scorer.

That's not to say Dillingham won't eventually be worth the price Minnesota paid to get him. It's possible he'd have stellar numbers if he were drafted by a team that would typically be selecting in the lottery, rather than a contender looking to improve on last year's Conference Finals appearance.

For now, though, Dillingham has yet to play 10 minutes in any game and hasn't come anywhere close to justifying the Wolves' decision to give up two first-round assets for him. He avoids a failing grade because he's averaging 12.3 points and 6.1 assists per 36 minutes with great shooting splits, which suggests he could do more if given the chance.

Grade: D

Rookie Class: Yves Missi, Antonio Reeves, Karlo Matković

We can't let the New Orleans Pelicans off the hook for failing to find an established starting center over the offseason, but it certainly helps that Missi has been a solid member of the first unit since taking over the job from Daniel Theis.

The rookie out of Baylor has nearly twice as many blocked shots as any of his teammates and leads the Pelicans in total rebounds by a mile. Though it's not saying much, he's also been New Orleans' best deterrent at the rim (among bigs), suppressing opponent field-goal percentage by 2.3 percent when designated as the primary defender inside six feet.

In a season where everything else has gone wrong, Missi's performance stands out as a rare positive. That's more than enough for the No. 21 pick to earn his team's rookie class an above-average grade—one that gets an extra boost from Reeves, who turned in an all-timer of a "where'd that come from?" performance when he erupted for 34 points against the Cavs on Nov. 20. Prior to that outburst, Reeves had barely played 34 minutes on the season.

Grade: B+

Rookie Class: Pacome Dadiet, Tyler Kolek, Kevin McCullar, Ariel Hukporti

Dadiet and Kolek, selected 25th and 34th, respectively, would probably have made bigger impacts by now if Tom Thibodeau weren't among the most rookie-averse head coaches around. Even with a painfully thin rotation, those two only tend to see minutes during blowouts.

In one recent example against the Washington Wizards on Nov. 18, Kolek zipped around the floor and collected five points, three assists and a steal in 17 minutes, while Dadiet canned three of his six long-range tries for a career-high nine points. Perhaps a few more of those showings will convince Thibs to trust the youth a little more.

Hukporti has already contributed more than most No. 58 picks in league history, as the German 7-footer registered at least one block in each of his first three career games and swatted away four more attempts (to go with seven points, four boards and three assists) in a career-best effort against the Brooklyn Nets on Nov. 15.

Despite what we just said about Thibs' reputation, Kolek, Dadiet and Hukporti make the Knicks one of just four teams to give at least 50 minutes to three different rookies so far this season. Considering the difficulty most young players have in cracking Thibodeau's rotation, that's a pretty strong vote of confidence.

Grade: B

Rookie Class: Nikola Topić, Dillon Jones, Ajay Mitchell, Malevy Leons, Alex Ducas, Alex Reese

It's hard to say if this is a distinction teams hope for, but the Oklahoma City Thunder have played more rookies than anyone we've covered so far. That's true in spite of Topić, the highest pick of the bunch at No. 12, still out rehabbing a torn ACL.

Reese, Ducas and Leons are stopgaps who've barely played, but Jones and Mitchell have both accumulated over 100 minutes on the year. Mitchell, the 38th pick who averaged 20.0 points and 4.0 assists at UC Santa Barbara, has been the better of OKC's two higher-usage rookies. The 6'5" guard is averaging 16.2 minutes per game and posting a 50.0/47.4/77.8 shooting split with a stellar 2.8 percent steal rate. He clearly got the memo that OKC players are required to be elite thieves.

Topić's playmaking would have been hugely helpful for an OKC team that lost some of its offensive dynamism when Chet Holmgren went down, but he was still a good value play at his draft slot—the kind of stash option a good team like the Thunder were right to pursue.

Grade: B+

Rookie Class: Tristan da Silva

Pressed into starting duties after Paolo Banchero's oblique injury, da Silva, the No. 18 pick, has shown glimpses of the long-range shooting and playmaking that got him drafted just outside the lottery.

An Orlando team that already had oversized offensive hubs in Banchero and Franz Wagner clearly has a type, as one of da Silva's main selling points is his 6'8" size on the wing. Though his three-point shot hasn't followed him to the NBA just yet, and though da Silva hasn't lived up to teammate Wendell Carter Jr.'s preseason comparison to a mini Wagner, it's telling that Orlando has a winning record since da Silva took on a starting job.

Any non-lottery rookie who can average 27.5 minutes as a starter and not completely tank the whole operation deserves credit. And in fact, Orlando's offense has been better all year with da Silva on the floor. That owes to a jumper that defenses still honor and a low-mistake game that shrinks Orlando's turnover rate by 4.0 percent when he's on the court, an elite figure.

Grade: A-

Rookie Class: Jared McCain, Adem Bona

It's flown under the radar because of a ragged Philadelphia 76ers start defined by heaps of losses and team meetings, but No. 16 pick Jared McCain has quietly been one of the best two or three rookies in the league.

McCain didn't crack the starting lineup until Nov. 13, but that's where he should stay whether the Sixers ever get their full complement of players healthy or not. Full-season figures of 15.6 points and 2.7 assists grossly undersell his contributions, as the Duke product played over 20.0 minutes just once until the second week of November. Since proving himself worthy of a major role, he's been a lights-out scorer—one who scored at least 20 points in every game from Nov. 10 to Nov. 20.

McCain's best effort came in an eight-point loss to the Cavaliers on Nov. 13 when he reeled off 34 points and added 10 assists in 38 minutes.

Dangerous on the catch, capable of putting the ball on the floor and a much better passer than his spot-up profile suggested coming out of college, McCain is right there with the Lakers' Dalton Knecht among the draft's best values.

Grade: A+

Rookie Class: Ryan Dunn, Oso Ighodaro, Jalen Bridges

Dunn has cooled off after a shockingly hot start from three-point range, but he's still arguably the most complete defender on the Phoenix Suns. He'll continue to have a significant role that includes appearances in the closing lineup as long as he continues to fire enough deep shots to command defensive attention.

Ighodaro is also logging high minute totals of late and has even appeared in the starting lineup once. Though lacking any perimeter range, the 6'10" big man out of Marquette has shown good touch on close-range flips and floaters, ranking in the 70th percentile at his position in short mid-range accuracy.

A 1.4 percent block rate leaves a lot to be desired, but Ighodaro was billed as more of a switching defender coming out of college and has shown quick feet for his size.

Grade: B

Rookie Class: Donovan Clingan

If we'd done these grades a couple of weeks ago, Clingan, the Portland Trail Blazers' lone rookie, wouldn't have come away with high marks. Things seemed to slow down for the hulking center sometime around the second week of November, though, and now it's looking like the Blazers made the right call at No. 7.

Clingan is always going to struggle in space on defense, but he swatted away eight shots to go with 17 points and a dozen rebounds in a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Nov. 13. He followed that up with another three blocks and eight rebounds in just 21 minutes when Portland beat Atlanta on Nov. 17.

Despite playing fewer minutes than fellow rookie big men Alex Sarr and Yves Missi, Clingan still leads the class in total blocks.

It's risky to take a non-stretch, non-switch center so high in the lottery. But that gamble can still pay off for Portland if the flashes of game-changing interior defense Clingan has shown lately are for real.

Grade: B+

Rookie Class: Devin Carter, Isaac Jones

Carter underwent shoulder surgery in July and is still months away from returning, a disappointing start to his career and a real drag for a Sacramento Kings team that probably intended to utilize his defensive skills right away.

Meanwhile, two-way forward Isaac Jones has appeared in just seven games and doesn't figure into the Kings' long or short-term plans. He's strictly a low-minutes stopgap for use only when the rotation is beset by injuries—a situation Sacramento recently found itself in when Domantas Sabonis, DeMar DeRozan and Malik Monk's time on the sidelines synced up.

We'll only break this one out once, but given Carter's injury and the undrafted Jones' minimal impact, the Kings get a cop-out pass on their rookie grade.

Grade: TBD

Rookie Class: Stephon Castle, Juan Nunez, Harrison Ingram, Riley Minx

If you're not a Castle stockholder, you should probably see if anyone has shares for sale.

Though he's struggled from the perimeter as expected, hitting under 30.0 percent of his threes, the combo guard out of Uconn has delivered on all the plusses in his draft profile.

Castle has shown great feel for a rookie, excelling at making both simple and advanced passing reads. Turnovers have been an issue at times, but 5.1 assists per 36 minutes will do just fine for a guard playing many of his minutes off the ball next to Chris Paul.

Defensive ferocity and jaw-dropping athletic flashes have defined Castle's early work for the San Antonio Spurs, and those attributes are going to make him a high-end rotation player if he continues to struggle as a shooter. Figure out how to knock down a few more jumpers, and Castle could easily develop into an All-Star who makes an impact on both ends.

Grade: A-

Rookie Class: Ja'Kobe Walter, Jonathan Mogbo, Jamal Shead, Jamison Battle

Shead is a rugged distributor who ranks third among rookies in total assists, while Mogbo flies around as an undersized big, creating chaos and transition chances in bunches. Neither has shot the ball well at all to this point, with Shead, a point guard, ranking as the more concerning bricklayer.

Still, the Toronto Raptors are getting real energy boosts from those two, and Battle has quietly been a reliable floor-stretcher, hitting 19 of his first 46 three-point attempts on the year.

Walter was the highest pick of the bunch, coming off the board at No. 19, but he's been an absolute dud in limited minutes. Billed as a smooth scorer capable of doing damage as a movement and pull-up shooter, he hit just three of his first 16 career shots.

Grade: C-

Rookie Class: Cody Williams, Isaiah Collier, Kyle Filipowski

Immediately after the draft, it seemed the Utah Jazz had come away with one of the top hauls of any team, regardless of where its picks came. This early in the season, we should probably still stick to that thinking—even if the results on the floor haven't measured up to expectations.

Williams' only expert skill to this point has been his ability to completely disappear from the action. He has an incomprehensibly low 11.4 percent usage rate through his 290 minutes. We should have seen that coming after he took zero shots in his 19-minute debut on Oct. 23.

Collier has struggled mightily to find his range as a three-point shooter and turned the ball over 20 times in his first eight appearances. At least he's finished well nearer the basket, as evidenced by his 60.0 percent hit rate on twos.

Filipowski has gotten several starts lately and has been the most balanced contributor, despite being the only second-rounder in Utah's rookie class. He registered double-digit points in three of the four games he played between Nov. 12 and Nov. 17, and has shown the ability to make an impact without scoring. His six assists, five rebounds and two steals offset a three-point outing against the Lakers on Nov. 19.

Grade: D

Rookie Class: Alex Sarr, Bub Carrington, Kyshwan George

Carrington and Sarr have been full-time starters from the jump, hardly a surprise for a Washington Wizards team with no reason to stunt the growth of its youth amid a loss-laden rebuild. Fortunately, both have shown legitimately projectable NBA skills in the opening weeks of their careers.

Carrington already has obvious craft and shot-creating chops on the ball. His 5.0 assists per game pair nicely with a 38.9 percent knockdown clip from beyond the arc, and he navigates the pick-and-roll with good feel. No other rookie can match his totals of at least 50 assists and 20 made triples, and Carrington's 1.2 steals per game also hint at two-way potential.

Sarr's offense is a work in progress. He's a weak finisher around the basket whose three-point attempts are more like speculative tosses. The other end looks better, as Sarr appears to be a real shot-blocking force who moves well enough to eventually guard multiple positions. Star upside is hard to see, but we're talking about a 19-year-old surrounded by loads of other inexperienced players. That's not the best judging environment.

George competes defensively and has ideal combo forward size but has been streaky as a shooter. He makes good decisions, though (39 assists to 11 turnovers from a forward is solid), and seems to fit well between Carrington and Sarr.

Grade: A-

Stats courtesy of NBA.com, Basketball Reference and Cleaning the Glass. Accurate through Nov. 21. Salary info via Spotrac.

Grant Hughes covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter (@gt_hughes), and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, where he appears with Bleacher Report's Dan Favale.