Despite the debate over the Rookie of the Year Award, there really was no debate. Paolo Banchero was the best rookie.
Plenty of people could look at metrics and look at role context to make arguments and try to poke holes in his case — and players like Jalen Williams and Keegan Murray and Walker Kessler had really impressive rookie seasons that deserve celebration.
But Banchero had the best overall season with the biggest responsibilities. And it helped too that his team took a huge step forward — although certainly not to the stage that the Oklahoma City Thunder and Sacramento Kings took.