Matas Buzelis not favored to win Rookie of the Year
Buzelis didn’t garner a single vote when a group of NBA coaches, execs and scouts were asked which player would win the 2024-25 Rookie of the Year.
Zach Edey (8) ran away with the vote, Reed Sheppard (5) was second, big-man Alex Sarr got two votes and Stephon Castle, Tristan da Silva and Rob Dillingham got one vote apiece.
There is an easy case for Edey, who is already 22, has NBA-ready skills and will likely be starting right away. The Grizzlies will be much better this season if they can stay healthy, so Edey could be starting and putting up numbers on a team headed to the playoffs.
The same could be said of Sheppard, who might have been the most impressive rookie in Summer League. He has easily transferrable NBA skills, but the only question will be playing time on a Rockets team loaded with young talent.
Alex Sarr seems a few years away from being a few years away on offense, so would have to block a ton of shots to make up for it. He’ll get plenty of chances on a terrible Wizards team with little big-man depth, but it’s possible he’ll struggle mightily on offense early on. I’d put Buzelis over him.
Castle is a wildcard now that the Spurs have Chris Paul, but he’ll get his chances and should rack up assists throwing lobs to Wembanyama.
Tristan da Silva? Eh. He’s joining a good team and will have a bench role as a shooter, but is he going to get enough chances to get noticed? I’d bet on Buzelis 100 times over da Silva, who seems like a reach.
Dillingham could have a featured bench role on a good team, but will he get the reps? Minnesota doesn’t have a deep bench, but they are chasing a title, so Dillingham won’t get minutes unless he performs.
It was surprising that Buzelis didn’t get a single vote, especially with some of these suspect names on the list. But at least one voter is betting on his future.