NBA Rookie Rankings: Jaime Jaquez Jr. shines on Christmas Day; Chet Holmgren learning from previous matchups

If you watched any hoops on Christmas Day while you were unwrapping presents and eating food then you probably thought to yourself on more than one occasion, “Man, that rookie is amazing.” There were three rookies who had standout performances on one of the league’s most important days on the schedule, and while the stars still took center stage, the performance from some of these first-year guys shows how the NBA is in really good hands for years to come. All three of them are featured in this week’s Rookie Rankings, but who else stood out?

Keep in mind that these rankings will reflect a rookie’s performance on a week-to-week basis only, not the collective season. These aren’t Rookie of the Year standings, but rather a reflection on what the player has done over the past week. With that straightened out, here is a look at the top five performers from the NBA’s freshman class:

Christmas Day games are typically reserved for the superstars of the league. It’s one of the most important days on the NBA’s calendar, as it’s really the first time many fans tune in to watch basketball as the NFL begins winding down toward the postseason. And while the stars certainly showed out this Christmas — hello Luka Doncic’s 50-point barnburner — a round of applause should be given to Jaquez, who had a game-high 31 points on Christmas against a Joel Embiid-less 76ers team. Jaquez got the start as Jimmy Butler also missed the day’s festivities with a calf injury, and to say he took full advantage of the situation would be an understatement.

I’ve said it multiple times now, but he just fits so well with the Heat. He embodies that over-talked-about “Heat culture,” but he’s more than just a hard worker who benefits from the talent surrounding him. On Christmas — as he’s done several times already — he was creating for himself, playing on and off the ball and crashing the glass at a rate that is usually reserved for the league’s best rebounders. Half of his 10 boards came on the offensive end, and several of them led to free-throw attempts, where he went 8-of-8 from the line.

Almost a month ago to the day, when Holmgren and the Thunder faced the Timberwolves for the first time things didn’t go great for the OKC big man. He went just 6-of-20 from the floor, one of his most inefficient games this season, and while he managed to be valuable in other ways by racking up eight rebounds and dishing out six assists, it was one of the first times Holmgren legitimately looked bothered by the defense. It wasn’t just a case of an off night, Rudy Gobert flexed his Defensive Player of the Year muscle and welcomed Holmgren to the NBA with a wake-up call. He bumped the rookie off balance every time he drove toward the rim and didn’t give him an inch of space to pull off any of his usual jumpers. It was an all-around bad shooting night for Holmgren.

Fast forward a month later and you can see how Holmgren developed and learned from that matchup. The rookie used his agility to catch Gobert on his heels, forcing the three-time DPOY to defend on the move and recover downhill, something he’s not especially great at.

Holmgren also held his own far better physically, not allowing Gobert to knock him off his spots as much as he did in the first meeting.

When Draymond Green got his latest — indefinite — suspension, Podziemski was called into the starting lineup, and in those seven games, he’s averaging nearly 11 points, seven rebounds, 4.4 assists and 2.1 steals. He, as well as several other of Golden State’s younger players, have been a silver lining in the Warriors average 15-15 start and have kept them afloat while guys like Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins have struggled to generate offense. 

On Christmas, Podziemski’s impact was once again on full display as he stuffed every aspect of the boxscore. He was the only starter to finish the game with a positive plus-minus, displaying how he does so many of the little things that hugely impact the game. He knows when to cut, when to pass and when it’s time to go get his own bucket. All things that have been sorely needed on a Warriors team that relies too heavily upon Stephen Curry to do everything on offense. 

First off, let’s just appreciate this wild lob dunk from Whitmore in transition:

I don’t care how routine that may look to you, that’s just flat-out impressive. Whitmore’s athleticism is just ridiculous, and he’s a real threat in transition as he can get up the floor at a moment’s notice. That dunk was part of the highs of Whitmore’s week, who also registered two DNP-CD’s. But in the two games he played, he took advantage of the opportunity. He’s only seen the floor in six games this season, but each time he’s shown he probably deserves more playing time. 

Lively tied his season-high (20 points) with a standout Christmas Day performance that also featured 10 rebounds in a dominating effort against the Suns. It truly is wild how invaluable he’s become to the Mavericks because in the four games he missed with an injury, Dallas went just 1-3. When Lively’s available, he’s a key piece in what the Mavericks do on both ends of the floor. When he’s in the game, the Mavs allow 7.1 fewer points than when he sits, and on offense, they score  4.7 more points. The offensive part isn’t entirely surprising because he’s benefiting from well-placed passes from Luka Doncic, but even aside from the occasional lob pass, Lively has shown great touch around the rim and impressive finishing through contact. On defense, he’s been the interior rim protector Dallas sorely needed, but his athleticism and footwork make him more than just a post defender.