The NBA released the 1st and 2nd All-Rookie teams, and two Detroit Pistons rookies, Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren, were named All-Rookie Second Team:
The 2022-23 Kia NBA All-Rookie Second Team:
▪️ Jalen Duren, Detroit Pistons
▪️ Tari Eason, Houston Rockets
▪️ Jaden Ivey, Detroit Pistons
▪️ Jabari Smith Jr., Houston Rockets
▪️ Jeremy Sochan, San Antonio Spurs pic.twitter.com/enD26sOsMD— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) May 8, 2023
Many people, including myself, thought Ivey would have a chance at 1st team based on how he closed out the season. Especially since Bennedict Mathurin, who got the final spot over him, didn’t play as well down the stretch after a hot start to the season.
If you made the selection based on how each player played during the first couple months of the season, it would have been Bennedict Mathurin, no doubt. But Mathurin hit a bit of a wall and his shooting fell off a cliff for a long stretch while Jaden Ivey got better throughout the season while also having the biggest offensive role outside of First-Teamer and Rookie of the Year Paolo Banchero. I guess it was too little too late.
I also would have to think that team record played a role in this, even though it really shouldn’t given how few rookies are able to contribute to winning basketball. Every rookie on the 1st team played for teams that won at least 34 games. And every one of those teams found themselves in the play-in hunt at some point during the season.
It is unfortunate that Jaden Ivey didn’t make it on the 1st team, but Detroit having two rookies on All-Rookie teams is impressive nonetheless. Houston also managed that this year with Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason, and of course it was just two years ago when Saddiq Bey and Isaiah Stewart both made it onto All-Rookie teams.
Jalen Duren received zero first-team votes, giving him no shot of making 1st team All-Rookie. Duren was pretty clearly a top-10 rookie this year, so making the 2nd team is not a surprise at all, and his upside, you have to think, is higher than Walker Kessler’s unless Kessler truly becomes the lockdown defensive center of the next decade.
Jaden Ivey’s final numbers were 16.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 5.2 assists on 42/34/74 shooting. Jalen Duren’s final numbers were 9.1 points, 8.9 rebounds, 1.1 assists on 65 percent shooting from the field and 61 percent shooting from the line.
If you are interested in the voting breakdown, here it is: