With Alex Sarr and Bub Carrington both being named to the All-Rookie team this week, I laid out the Wizards’ less-than-decorated recent history with the award. What can the Wizards and their fans learn from that history?
I think the most important lesson to be drawn from All-Rookie selections is that they can be fools’ gold. Tons of players — especially more complete and refined four-year college players — make the All-Rookie team before fading into obscurity.
Some fade quickly. Chris Duarte made the All-Rookie team just three seasons ago and currently plays in Puerto Rico. Eric Paschall made the team in 2020 but hasn’t seen an NBA floor since 2022.
The opposite is also often true — a lot of All-Star caliber players failed to make the All-Rookie, meaning they weren’t considered one of the ten best rookies in the league early on, for any number of reasons.
Paschall’s Villanova teammate Jalen Brunson missed out on All-Rookie honors but is a handful of wins away from dragging the New York Knicks to the NBA Finals. Some players, like Brunson and Draymond Green, simply didn’t have the opportunity as young players in more competitive ecosystems to put up the types of numbers that translate to All-Rookie selections.
For others, like Darius Garland, miserable rookie seasons adjusting to the NBA game gave way to multiple future All-Star selections. Garland was not among the ten best rookies in the 2019-20 class as he struggled through adjustment, and he missed out on All-Rookie honors behind three players already out of the NBA — Eric Paschall, Kendrick Nunn, and Terence Davis (who had an eight-minute cameo with the Kings this season).
So what point am I even trying to make here?
I strongly believe that All-Rookie selections should be treated as nothing more than fun commemorations of seasons in which rookies managed to be not terrible. The Ringer’s Bill Simmons often says that awards should help to contextualize individual NBA seasons for future generations, and I think we’ll be able to talk about the 2016-17 season without mentioning Marquese Chriss, for example.
Who knows what that means for the Wizards’ future. Sarr and Carrington could be mere flashes in the pan, or they could be future franchise players. As we’ve seen, there’s really no way to predict quite yet. Every draft class has a Bones Hyland who sneaks onto an All-Rookie team, and they also almost always have a DeMar DeRozan who misses out before making multiple All-Star teams.