Most Forgettable Rookie of the Year Winners of Each Decade
The first-ever Rookie of the Year (ROY) was awarded during the 1952–53 season. Since that time there have been quite a number of forgettable winners for various reasons. Let’s take a look at some of those players.
1950's:
Monk Meineke won the first ROY award, but after that, there was not too much to show for his career. He lasted in the league for a total of 5 seasons, never winning any other awards or even making a single all-star game appearance. His rookie season he played for the Fort Wayne Pistons, averaging 10.7 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.2 assists while also leading the league in personal fouls. Each of which ended up being career highs in their respective categories. The Basketball-Reference Similarity Scores rates his game to be most similar to Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Needless to say, besides being the first to win the award, he is not known for too much else.
1960's:
The 1960’s decade was an impressive one making it particularly difficult to choose a player who was forgotten. When it’s all said and done, Terry Dischinger “wins” this time. His rookie season he averaged 25.5 points, 8 rebounds, and 3.1 assists. He ended his 9-year career, which involved a 2-year pause due to military service, as a 3-time All-Star. All three All-Star appearances occurred in the three seasons he played before his military service. Overall he actually had a pretty decent career so there is no need to harp on him too much. His Basketball-Reference Similarity Score likens him to Bob Boozer, but the most recent player with similarity to his game was Richard Jefferson. Terry Dischinger was the only NBA ROY winner during the 1960s that did not make the Hall of Fame, and that’s why he gets to be blessed with this honor.
1970's:
There were a couple of options for this decade, including from the 1970–71 season during which two winners were selected, Dave Cowens and Geoff Petrie. Dave Cowens went on to become a Hall of Famer while Geoff Petrie had a respectable, but underwhelming career by comparison. Of the entire decade, Ernie DiGregorio ended up being the least impressive Rookie of the Year. The 1973–74 season during which he won the award was the only truly notable one of his career. Along with winning ROY, he was also the Assist Champion in the league. This season he averaged 15.2 points and 8.2 assists per game. Following this season, however, he never averaged more than 4.9 assists per game again for the remainder of his career. Basketball-Reference Similar Score shows Pat Riley’s game to be most similar to his. When you peak so early in your career, never reaching that level of success again, you land on some random medical student’s list of most forgettable rookie of the year award winners.
1980's:
This decade brought in a few NBA Legends to the league including Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, and Patrick Ewing. Immediately those 3 season’s winners are eliminated from the running. Out of the 7 remaining options, Darrell Griffith sticks out the most. He played a 10 season long career, entirely with the Utah Jazz, and earned the nickname Dr. Dunkenstein along the way. He did not have a bad career, but he was overshadowed by many of the greats during his time. Prior to the foot injury that kept him out of the entirety of the 1985–86 he averaged nearly 20 points per game in each season. During his rookie season, Darrell Griffith averaged 20.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.4 steals per game. His career has been shown to be most similar to Anthony Peeler and CJ Watson. There were not too many accolades to follow this, and so he lands on the list.
1990's:
Once we reach the 90s there are starting to be a lot more players that I recognize at least at first glance. Larry Johnson, Shaquille O’Neil, Chris Webber, Grant Hill/Jason Kidd, Allen Iverson, Tim Duncan, and Vince Carter account for 7 of the 10 seasons of this decade. This really narrowed down the search, leading to Damon Stoudamire (no relation to Amar’e StoudEmire), as the winner. His rookie season was the first of many on a long career, but it also ended up being one of his best. That year he averaged 19 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per game. He had a few other good seasons, but overall he just flattened out after a few seasons. His Basketball-Reference Similarity Score shows that his game is most similar to Nick Van Exel, or in most recent terms, J.J. Redick. He had a good career overall, but just never cracked the threshold of being one of the best in the league again for the remainder of his career.
2000's:
The 2000s had some great players, but this time around there is one player that sticks out as the easy winner. For years there has been discussion about Emeka Okafor that was unable to live up to the expectations of a Number 2 overall pick. It may have to do in large part with the fact that he was drafted behind Dwight Howard. One of these two players is still in the NBA on a championship contender and the other is coming off the bench for the Ulsan Hyundai Mobis Phoebus of the Korean Basketball League. It’s easy to see why he has been criticized so much and it’s a big reason why he has been a forgettable award winner. His rookie season he averaged 15.1 points, 10.9 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks per game. He did manage to average a double-double for the first 5 seasons of his career, but it was still pretty underwhelming considering his overall inability to stay healthy in his sophomore season. There were no other accolades to be seen after his rookie season either. Basketball-Reference Similarity Score is most like Sam Lacey and DeMarcus “Boogie” Cousins. He was not a bad player, but the inability to reach his full potential frames his career as a disappointment overall.
2010's:
The most recent decade has shown exponential growth in talent league-wide. With that being said, this was a relatively easy decision. Michael Carter-Williams (MCW) won the award in 2013–14 over the likes of players that have far surpassed him in NBA relevance. That year Victor Oladipo, Steven Adams, and Giannis Antetokuonmpo were also rookies. That season it was justifiable that MCW won the award after averaging 16.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, 6.3 assists, and 1.9 steals. That is actually a statistically great season but the best one of his career hands down. Since then he has struggled to find relevance but remains a rotational player in Orlando. Basketball-Reference Similarity Score likens his skillset to Howard Komives and Brook Steppe. He was never expected to be a franchise-changing player, but in comparison to others in his rookie class, he is quickly becoming an afterthought.
