Some major risers and fallers in the updated dynasty rookie rankings
It will come as no surprise that Jared McCain is flying up the 2024 dynasty rookie rankings. The only question is how high should he go. In my latest rankings update I put McCain at no.5 but was tempted to put him even higher. He’s been sensational over the past two weeks, looking like a young Steph Curry mixed with some Jalen Brunson. His shooting is spectacular but he’s also shown so much more than just 3pt shooting. His feel for the game is really high. He relocates and finds space in the defense as well as any rookie in this class. He’s also shown more play-making ability than we saw last year at Duke. He’s got the strength to play through contact and bump defenders off balance to create space in the mid range.
McCain is bound to cool off at some point, and the 76ers will be getting their veteran stars back soon, but McCain has shown that he is capable of being much more than just a role player in the league. His future is very, very bright.
Dalton Knecht is also soaring up the rankings. It was obvious in watching him play last year at Tennessee that his scoring would translate to the league and that he would be one of the more NBA ready players in the draft. The Lakers are starting to unleash him, giving him minutes and a big green light to shoot the ball. Knecht has scored 27 and 37 points in his last two games and is now shooting over 46% from 3 for the season.
Trailblazer center Donovan Clingan is starting to make his mark as well. His minutes were spotty to start the year but are now starting to increase. In his first game playing over 30 minutes he put up 17 points, 12 boards and 8 blocks! He’s already one of the best shot blockers in the league plus is a high level rebounder as well. He’s going to be a fantasy stud.
As good as these players have been the top spot goes to Zach Edey. While he has his limitations on the court he just consistently puts up huge numbers. He’s in a great situation to take advantage of his skills in Memphis and the big stat-lines should continue to come.
A few rookies who are off to slow starts include Cody Williams, Ron Holland and Reed Sheppard. Sheppard is a great “buy-low” candidate but my top buy low player is Hornets forward Tidjane Salaun. He’s super raw and will be very inefficient this season but the tools, the tenacity and the upside are all there. It’s a bit of a gamble but I think his stock will rise a lot over the coming months/years.
Check out the full Top 30 Dynasty Rookie Rankings