Chris Duarte – Indiana Pacers

Many concluded before the season began that Cade Cunningham (Pistons), Jalen Green (Rockets), or Evan Mobley (Cavaliers) would win the Rookie of the Year award this year, but Chris Duarte has been taking advantage of his playing time early on in the season with the Pacers dealing with so many injuries. Both Caris LeVert and T.J. Warren continue to be sidelined for the Pacers, which has opened up the door for the 13th overall pick to steal the show in Indiana. 

Entering the league as one of the older rookies from the 2021 draft class, there have been many comparisons made for Chris Duarte to that of his current teammate Malcolm Brogdon when he first entered the league.

Brogdon came out of Virginia in 2016 as a 24-year-old rookie, just like Chris Duarte, and the then Bucks’ guard went on to win the Rookie of the Year award after many passed up on him in the draft. 

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Plenty of lottery teams passed up on their chance to draft Chris Duarte this year, mainly because of his age and potential not being as high as other prospects in the draft class, and they are definitely regretting this decision right now.

The rookie shooting guard has been fantastic for the Pacers this season and in his first four starts, he is averaging 19.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists and is shooting 44.8% from three-point range. 

While the Pacers have started the year 1-3, Chris Duarte has been pulling his weight and in a big way.

It is going to be very interesting to see if Indiana elects to put Duarte on the bench when Caris LeVert and T.J. Warren return from injuries, but right now, there is no dispute that Chris Duarte is the “way-too-early” front-runner for Rookie of the Year right now.