Picking the NBA All-Rookie Teams for the 2024/25 Season
by Sam Cox | by Tyler Doty
There are 10 spots on the All-Rookie teams for a total of 50 first-year NBA players. It’s a less competitive race than the All-NBA and All-Defense teams in some ways, as voters have such a small field to choose from, with several of those 50 not playing significant minutes.
In 2024/25, only five or six players are guaranteed a spot on the All-Rookie teams, which is a lower mark than in plenty of recent seasons. Important info ahead of your NBA picks for this year's All-Rookie team. As a result, there’s plenty of discussion over who fills the remaining places.
All-Rookie First Team
Stephon Castle
The consensus NBA Rookie of the Year, Stephon Castle finished the season averaging 14.7 points per game. Jared McCain, who suffered a season-ending injury early in the year, is the only player to have averaged more.
Castle needs to improve as a shooter, but his playmaking, defense, and at-the-rim finishing stand him in good stead for a long NBA career.
Jaylen Wells
Selected 39th overall, Jaylen Wells was an immediate rotation player for the Memphis Grizzlies. Wells was moved into the starting five for the sixth game of the season and never relinquished his spot.
He looked like the strongest Rookie of the Year candidate for a few weeks in the middle of the campaign.
Zaccharie Risacher
Zaccharie Risacher might not be the same caliber of prospect as Cooper Flagg or Victor Wembanyama, but he was still effective as a rookie.
Risacher made real strides as a shooter, hitting 40.7% of his outside shots over the final 34 games of the season. He will at least be an effective two-way wing for the next decade.
Alexandre Sarr
Castle and McCain were the only rookies to average more points than Alex Sarr. He averaged 15.9 points per game from March 5 onwards and showed a willingness to increase his three-point volume, which enhances his offensive upside.
It wasn’t easy to evaluate players on the hopeless Washington Wizards, but Sarr showed enough to earn a spot in the first team.
Zach Edey
Not many rookie centers can play positive minutes for a good team. The Grizzlies were notably better with Zach Edey on the floor, even though their rebounding rate cratered in his minutes.
At 7’4, Edey is a real weapon on offense and could have been used more effectively by the Grizz.
All-Rookie Second Team
Isaiah Collier
Of rookies to play more than eight games, only Tyler Kolek had a better assist-to-turnover ratio than Isaiah Collier. Collier’s 6.3 assists per game is 1.9 ahead of any other first-year player.
The Utah Jazz need a long-term answer at point guard. Collier’s poor shooting means he might not fit the bill, even after impressing as a rookie.
Bub Carrington
Over the last 12 games of the season, Bub Carrington averaged 14.8 points and 6.6 assists while making 39.2% of his three-point shots.
Unafraid to get up perimeter shots, Carrington could develop into a dangerous pull-up jump shooter. We want to see major improvement in his rim scoring in volume and efficiency, though.
Matas Buzelis
From Jan. 29 until the end of the regular season, Matas Buzelis shot over 37% from downtown and scored 13.3 points per game. This wasn’t end-of-season empty-calorie offense, either, with the Chicago Bulls making a surprising late surge.
Chicago went 19-16 over that period. They were only 0.6 points worse per 100 possessions with Buzelis on the floor – he’s set to be a part of their long-term core with Coby White and Josh Giddey.
Yves Missi
Kel’el Ware was the only rookie to register more double-doubles than Yves Missi. Ware had the edge over Missi in true shooting percentage, but Missi averaged more rebounds per game and played over 500 more minutes.
It was a grind for the New Orleans Pelicans this season, but at least they seem to have found another rotational player in Missi.
Kyle Filipowski
Kyle Filipowski averaged 3.1 points more than Donovan Clingan per game and was only marginally less efficient from the field, while shooting six percentage points higher from the charity stripe.
This isn’t a verdict on who will be the better player long-term, but more of a judgement on Filipowski’s workload as a rookie with Ware and Clingan playing notably fewer minutes.
