We waited for two years for this rookie class to take shape and make it to the NBA. Teams threw seasons away just for the chance to draft Jabari Parker and Andrew Wiggins.
Fans of those teams spent a year debating which player would be better between these two wonder freshmen.
When the dust settled, Andrew Wiggins went number one and Jabari Parker went number two. The Cavaliers got Wiggins — then got some guy named LeBron James, I have never heard of him — and the Bucks got Parker.
So who won the real Draft Lottery?
According to NBA rookies gathered in New York for the NBA Rookie Symposium and a photo shoot for their official Panini Trading Cards, the Bucks got the gem of the Draft.
John Schumann of NBA.com conducted his annual rookie poll asking the important question: Who will win Rookie of the Year? And: Which Rookie will have the best career?
Duke forward and Bucks rookie Jabari Parker won both running away.
Parker received 52.8 percent of the votes to win Rookie of the Year. Doug McDermott finished second with 8.3 percent, tied with Wiggins.
Doug McDermott is surprisingly well thought of among his peers. Dave Weaver-USA TODAY Sports
As for which player will have the best career, Parker ran away with that too with 45.9 percent. McDermott also finished in second place there too with Wiggins surprisingly finishing tied for fourth with Zach LaVine.
It appears either NBA rookies do not think as highly of Wiggins as much of the basketball world or they think pairing up with LeBron James is going to limit his opportunities to shine. Of course a trade to Minnesota will change all of that. The poll was conducted last week before the Wolves and Cavs reportedly agreed to a deal sending the last two No. 1 overall picks to Minneapolis.
For whatever it is worth, the rookies are not great at predicting things. More than half of them picked Victor Oladipo and C.J. McCollum to win Rookie of the Year last year. McCollum played in only 38 games and only 12.5 minutes per game. Oladipo ended up finishing second in Rookie of the Year voting last year. Oladipo and Kelly Olynyk won the best career vote.
So that means . . . your guess is as good as mine.
