Sheridan Hoops Rookie Rankings: Week 23

RANK	ROOKIE	RUNDOWN	RECENT
1		DAMIAN LILLARD, G, PORTLAND: Through Wednesday, he has played 3,017 minutes, five less than league leader Kevin Durant. Both players have four games remaining, and you would think at some point Thunder coach Scott Brooks would rest his superstar, which would put Lillard in very exclusive company.	1
2		ANTHONY DAVIS, F-C, NEW ORLEANS: He leads all rookies in rebounds, blocks, steals and double-doubles and is fourth in scoring. But as the top pick from a national champion, everyone was expecting a little more. Multiple injuries certainly didn’t help, including a sprained knee Wednesday.	2
3		BRADLEY BEAL, G, WASHINGTON: Ended up missing a third of the season with wrist, ankle and leg injuries. But he overcame a shaky start to justify his No. 3 draft selection and solidify his reputation as a premier shooting guard, averaging almost 14 points while shooting .484 from the arc after Jan. 1.	–
4		HARRISON BARNES, F, GOLDEN STATE: See that mugshot to the left? That’s from our mock draft files. We never had to change the photo for Barnes, which means he was in the rankings every week. You can bemoan his defense and ordinary production, but he has been healthy and consistent for a playoff team.	6
5		DION WAITERS, G, CLEVELAND: Those who swear by analytics will disapprove of this pick, because Waiters is a gunner who doesn’t defend very well and doesn’t always max out his effort. But he already is a top 50 scorer and solid playmaker whose shooting improved as the season progressed.	–
6		ANDRE DRUMMOND, F-C, DETROIT: His PER of 22.3 is outstanding for a rookie, but you have to wonder if that number was helped by the fact that he played only 20 minutes per game. Like Waiters, it was nice to see him return from a late-season injury. And that 29 and 11 he had Wednesday is representative of his ceiling.	5
7		MOE HARKLESS, F, ORLANDO: Might have been on the First Team if management had turned him loose a month earlier. Averaged 3.9 points and 3.3 rebounds in 16.7 minutes through January and 12.1 points and 5.6 rebounds in 34.3 minutes since. Alongside Davis, has the best all-around skill set in this class.	4
8		MICHAEL KIDD-GILCHRIST, F, CHARLOTTE: Maybe it was the losing, or the concussion he suffered. But after a stellar start, MKG hit the Rookie Wall super hard right after the new year. Appears to be trying to finish strong and should be a building block here. Does he realize he could be another Scottie Pippen?	9
9		JONAS VALANCIUNAS, C, TORONTO: No rookie was a more efficient scorer. He led all first-year players in points-per-shot (1.49) and was fifth in adjusted FG percent (.553). He has been gangbusters for more than a month now, but injury and propensity for fouling relegates JV to the JV.	3
10		KYLE SINGLER, F, DETROIT: Like Valanciunas, another 2011 pick who spent last season in Europe and turned that experience (and plenty of 2012 lottery flops) into a solid NBA debut campaign. Would have been nice if he finished stronger as just six of his 32 double-digit games came after the break.	8

DROPOUTS: Pablo Prigioni, G, New York (7); Meyers LLeonard, C, Portland (8); Tyler Zeller, C, Cleveland (10).

HONORABLE MENTION: Andrew Nicholson, F, Orlando; Brian Roberts, G, New Orleans; Alexey Shved, G, Minnesota; Jared Sullinger, F, Boston; Tyler Zeller, C, Cleveland.

Chris Bernucca is the deputy editor of SheridanHoops.com. His columns appear Monday during the season. You can follow him on Twitter.