As of right now, the SRROTY (second-round rookie of the year) race is down to two players: Jalen Brunson and Mitchell Robinson. Thrown in Rodions Kurucs if you want, but he’s been in a bit of a slumpy-wump recently, while Brunson and Robinson are surging. Both of these true candidates are averaging around 19 minutes per game, with Brunson having the edge in scoring and playmaking and Robinson have the edge in blocking a ridiculous amount of shots.
I’m torn. Advanced stats give the clear advantage to Robinson, but we know that advanced stats of a hard-on for efficient bigmen. Brunson is capable of doing a lot more on the offensive side of the ball than Robinson, stuff like dribbling, shooting, and passing. Should that be held against him, the fact that he sometimes takes shots that aren’t just dunks? No.
In the end, to avoid deciding, I’ll just give the award to Bruce Brown. He’s played the most minutes out of any second-round rookie, that has to mean something, right? Who cares if I can barely make a highlight video for him this season because he’s so useless on offense? He’s a legit role-player for a playoff-ish team, something these other dudes can’t say.