The 2017 NBA rookie class is bullish on Dallas Mavericks guard Dennis Smith Jr.
In a survey of 39 rookies conducted by NBA.com, Smith was voted most likely to win Rookie of the Year.
Smith, the No. 9 draft pick, received 25.7 percent of the vote, while No. 2 pick Lonzo Ball received 20 percent and top pick Markelle Fultz received 17.1 percent.
Smith impressed scouts -- and his fellow rookies, apparently -- with standout athleticism and explosiveness in the Las Vegas Summer League, where he averaged 17.8 points per game. He figures to play significant minutes in his first NBA season.
It's worth noting that this poll doesn't have a strong history of predicting the eventual award winner. The players surveyed have correctly predicted the Rookie of the Year just once since 2007; Kevin Durant won the award that season. Last season, then-Minnesota Timberwolves guard Kris Dunn (now with the Chicago Bulls) was predicted to win the award, which went to the Milwaukee Bucks' Malcolm Brogdon.
Rookies were also asked to name their favorite player. Somewhat surprisingly, two-time MVP Stephen Curry didn't receive a vote. The voting total for Durant, Curry's Golden State Warriors teammate, decreased significantly from past surveys. Durant had been the rookies' favorite player for the past three years, according to the survey.
This season it was LeBron James, followed by Russell Westbrook and Kawhi Leonard. This is only the second time in eight years that James was named the rookies' favorite player; 2012 is the other.
In a survey of 39 rookies conducted by NBA.com, Smith was voted most likely to win Rookie of the Year.
Smith, the No. 9 draft pick, received 25.7 percent of the vote, while No. 2 pick Lonzo Ball received 20 percent and top pick Markelle Fultz received 17.1 percent.
Smith impressed scouts -- and his fellow rookies, apparently -- with standout athleticism and explosiveness in the Las Vegas Summer League, where he averaged 17.8 points per game. He figures to play significant minutes in his first NBA season.
It's worth noting that this poll doesn't have a strong history of predicting the eventual award winner. The players surveyed have correctly predicted the Rookie of the Year just once since 2007; Kevin Durant won the award that season. Last season, then-Minnesota Timberwolves guard Kris Dunn (now with the Chicago Bulls) was predicted to win the award, which went to the Milwaukee Bucks' Malcolm Brogdon.
Rookies were also asked to name their favorite player. Somewhat surprisingly, two-time MVP Stephen Curry didn't receive a vote. The voting total for Durant, Curry's Golden State Warriors teammate, decreased significantly from past surveys. Durant had been the rookies' favorite player for the past three years, according to the survey.
This season it was LeBron James, followed by Russell Westbrook and Kawhi Leonard. This is only the second time in eight years that James was named the rookies' favorite player; 2012 is the other.
