Rookie power rankings: Chicago Bulls' Lauri Markkanen making NBA history
Paste BN Sports spotlights one rookie each week as part of our weekly Rookie Power Rankings.
Chicago Bulls rookie Lauri Markkanen made NBA history this week, but the humble 20-year-old didn’t seem to know what he’d accomplished.
Markkanen, now with 101 three-pointers made this season, became the fastest player in league history to top 100 made three-pointers, eclipsing the mark after just 41 games. Portland star Damian Lillard held the previous record at 44 games. It took Kristaps Porzingis 81 games and Dirk Nowitzki 113 games to get there.
“I didn’t know that,” he said. “I just try to play my game. I always knew that I could shoot, so I try to do it.”
Acquired with the No. 7 pick via the draft-night trade of Jimmy Butler, Markkanen is averaging 15.5 points, 7.6 rebounds and shooting 37% from three-point range. Compared to other rookies, he’s the fourth leading scorer behind Donovan Mitchell, Ben Simmons and Kyle Kuzma.
In January alone, he’s averaging 19.4 points on 51% shooting from three-point range. He dropped a career-high 33 points on the New York Knicks last Wednesday, including eight-three-pointers, while outplaying his counterpart Porzingis in the win.
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His efficiency, athleticism and range already make him one of the best rookies, and as the Chicago Tribune pointed out this week, Markkanen wouldn’t have fallen to No. 7 if this year’s class was re-drafted. Though known for his shooting, Markkanen is adamant about becoming a well-rounded player, capable of knocking down deep threes or throwing down huge dunks on opposing big men. Knicks forward Enes Kanter recently wound up on the business end of one of those.
Markkanen has been integral to the Bulls’ recent surge, and his polish, for such a young player, has expedited Chicago’s rebuild.
Paste BN Sports' Sam Amick, Jeff Zillgitt, Michael Singer and AJ Neuharth-Keusch vote in our weekly rookie rankings.
1. Ben Simmons, Philadelphia 76ers: 16.8 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 7.3 apg
Can you have a welcome to the NBA moment three months into your career? If so, Simmons had one with Kyle Lowry, when the vet, in so many words, asked him to step outside.
2. Donovan Mitchell, Utah Jazz: 18.9 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.3 apg
Mitchell turned in games of 23 and 35 this week, which ultimately both came in losing efforts. Against the Hornets, he had 22 points at halftime.
“We’ve tried to not put a ceiling on him one way or the other,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said.
3. Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics: 13.8 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 1.4 apg
Tatum is among the rookie leaders in blocks (.84 per game) and steals (.93) to go along with his continued advanced awareness on the offensive end. He excels at reading defenses, moving without the ball, taking advantage of mismatches and creating offense on his own.
4. Lauri Markkanen, Chicago Bulls: 15.5 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 1.3 apg
Markkanen has buried at least three three-pointers in seven of his last eight games, and he has at least one trey in fourteen straight.
5. Kyle Kuzma, Los Angeles Lakers: 16.8 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 1.9 apg
A look at Kuzma’s January: The versatile forward is averaging just 12.1 points on 39% shooting from the field. His three-point shooting (31%) and his FT percentage (57%) dipped significantly from his November and December numbers.
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