ESPN: Hawks' John Collins is fifth-best rookie

Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler waves to fans as they applaud him while Butler is taken off the court after being injured late in the first half of his team's NBA basketball game against the Denver Nuggets on Friday, Feb. 5, 2016, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

By Michael Cunningham

Dec 21, 2017

Hawks rookie John Collins wasn't a lottery pick and he's playing 22.9 minutes per game for the team with the worst record in the NBA. Those factors mean Collins typically isn't included among the national discussions about the league's top rookies but ESPN.com's Kevin Pelton includes Collins among his first rookie rankings (Insider).

Pelton ranks Collins No. 5 behind Ben Simmons (Sixers), Jayson Tatum (Celtics), Donovan Mitchell (Jazz) and OG Anunoby (Raptors). Simmons, Tatum and Mitchell were lottery picks, while Anunoby was selected four spots behind Collins, the No. 19 overall pick.

In explaining why Collins ranks fifth, Pelton cites factors Hawks watchers know well about Collins: he’s productive, efficient and particularly effective as a pick-and-roll rim runner. Writes Pelton:

With those high-percentage finishes, Collins' 54.4 percent shooting as a roll man in the pick-and-roll ranks seventh among players with at least 50 such attempts, according to Synergy Sports tracking on NBA.com/Stats.

I’ve noted before that Collins’ statistical production and efficiency in several categories compare favorably with every rookie in the Basketball-Reference database, going back to 1946-47. Collins’ standing has only improved since then among all rookies who've averaged at least 20 minutes.