Chris Duarte – Indiana Pacers
The Indiana Pacers have been decimated by injuries through the years and as a result, they wound up missing the playoffs last year.
Having the 13th overall pick in the draft, Indiana thought about possibly moving back or trading the pick for another established player, but they settled on drafting Chris Duarte from Oregon, who is not your traditional rookie taken in the lottery.
Most lottery picks are between the ages of 18-21 and have a lot of potential to grow for the future, but that was not the case with Duarte. At 24-years-old, Chris Duarte is already an experienced rookie in the NBA and came into the league ready to contribute immediately.
Being able to start on Opening Night due to injuries on this Pacers’ roster, Chris Duarte made the most of his opportunities and scored at least 10 points in each of his first nine games, including 27 points in his first ever NBA game against the Hornets!
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A lot of comparisons have been made for Chris Duarte to that of his current teammate, Malcolm Brogdon, when he first entered the league as a second-round pick in 2016.
Brogdon was slept on by many coming out of Virginia and being the two-way threat he was in the backcourt, Malcolm Brogdon immediately made a difference for the Milwaukee Bucks as a 24-year-old rookie.
Brogdon was so good that he actually went on to win the Rookie of the Year award, becoming the lowest drafted player to ever win the award and also tying David Robinson and Elgin Baylor as the oldest players in league history to ever win the award.
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Chris Duarte also has the chance to write his name next to these three this season if he was to win the Rookie of the Year award. So far, he definitely has put together a solid resume and is currently averaging 14.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 0.9 steals and is shooting 40.3% from three-point range.
Being able to score from anywhere on the floor and immediately getting 20-plus minutes per game with the Pacers, Chris Duarte has been one of the most impressive rookies to this point in the NBA season, even if Indiana has not found much success in terms of winning.
