Ranking Warriors' five best rookie seasons of 21st century
For the first time in a handful of years, the Warriors had a lottery pick in the 2020 draft, selecting Memphis big man James Wiseman with the No. 2 pick.Rookies haven’t been asked to serve a major role much in recent years as the Warriors advanced to five straight NBA Finals. But with Steph Curry and Klay Thompson missing just about the entire 2019-20 season, Eric Paschall was the Warriors’ first rookie to make the All-Rookie First-Team since Harrison Barnes in 2012-13.Wiseman and second-round selection Nico Mannion are expected to be productive in their inaugural rookie seasons, as the Warriors look to overcome the loss of Thompson for the season and climb back into contention in the Western Conference.We’ll examine the five best rookie seasons from a Warrior over the past 20 years, and discuss how Wiseman might stack up.
Marc Jackson had a strong rookie season for the Warriors in 2000-01, starting 35 of his 48 appearances and averaging 13.2 points and 7.5 rebounds over 29.4 minutes per game. Jackson even finished third in Rookie of the Year voting, something several players on this list can’t say about their rookie campaigns.
The reason Jackson doesn’t make the top five here is he had been drafted three years prior in the second round, but played his first few professional seasons overseas before debuting with the Warriors in 2000-01. He was traded in 2002 and played with four other NBA franchises before completing his career in Europe.
Jackson’s point and rebounding stats could be a good baseline for Wiseman in his rookie season, but the 7-foot-1 center isn’t likely to play close to 30 minutes a night, at least in the first few months of the 2020-21 season.
Barnes was the seventh overall pick in 2012, and became an instant contributor on the wing, starting all 81 games he appeared in and playing 25.4 minutes per game. Barnes made the All-Rookie First-Team and finished in a tie for sixth in Rookie of the Year voting.
Touted as a versatile defender coming out of North Carolina, Barnes’ impact on the offensive end was limited in his first season, but he helped lead the Warriors to the playoffs. In the Western Conference semifinals against the eventual West champion San Antonio Spurs, Barnes had multiple games where he logged 50-plus minutes in the series.
Barnes eventually was an integral part of the 2015 championship team, but he was let go to make room for Kevin Durant after the 2015-16 season.
We could see Wiseman average a similar amount of minutes, although certain circumstances delayed his start of Warriors training camp, and he might be brought along slowly, as Steve Kerr doesn’t expect him to play in any of Golden State’s three preseason games.
In a brutal season for the Warriors that saw the organization finish in last place in the West, Paschall provided a silver lining after being the No. 41 overall pick.
Paschall was thrust into an increased role as Draymond Green was in and out of the lineup, and averaged 14.4 points and 5.6 rebounds over 27.6 minutes per game.
The Villanova product easily outperformed first-round pick Jordan Poole as a rookie, and will be a crucial part of the Warriors’ second unit after making 26 starts a season ago.
Playing all 66 games of his lockout-shortened rookie season, Klay Thompson showed off his 3-point stroke while making 29 starts and averaging 12.5 points per game.
He played just 16.5 minutes per game before the late-February All-Star break, but after Monta Ellis was traded on March 13, Thompson averaged 33.8 minutes and nearly doubled his scoring average in the final two months of the season.
Thompson finished sixth in Rookie of the Year voting and earned First-Team All-Rookie honors.
Wiseman might get a similar uptick in minutes and production once he acclimates to the NBA game and gets his health back up to 100 percent.
The fifth overall pick immediately was a major contributor for the Warriors, playing 32.9 minutes per game and providing Warriors fans with highlights showcasing his acrobatic finishes on a regular basis.
Richardson put up 14.4 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, and was the MVP of the 2002 Rookie Challenge (now known as the Rising Stars Challenge).
He was a star of All-Star weekend, as Richardson won his first of two consecutive dunk contests, beating Gerald Wallace in the final round.
Before he was a two-time MVP, Steph Curry was a First-Team All-Rookie selection after averaging 17.5 points and 5.9 assists for the Warriors. Similar to his fellow Splash Brother, Curry got much better as the season went on, winning the Western Conference Rookie of the Month for January, March and April.
Curry’s 166 3-pointers were the most ever by an NBA rookie, and his five 30-point/10-assist performances tied him with Michael Jordan for the second-most by a rookie.
He finished second in Rookie of the Year voting to the Kings’ Tyreke Evans, who was the only rookie to average 20 points per game that season.
