4. Michael Carter-Williams
Deciding where to rank Michael Carter-Williams (MCW) was tough for me. I know that he flamed out rather quickly once he was traded from the Philadelphia 76ers to the Milwaukee Bucks. However, he did beat out every player in his draft class to win Rookie of the Year (ROY) and that counts for something.
In the season and a half MCW was on the Sixers, he averaged 16.0 points, 6.2 rebounds, 6.7 assists, and 1.7 steals. Pretty impressive right? Not really when you factor in the 6-foot-5 point guard’s shooting percentages during his 76ers tenure. He shot 39.6 percent from the field, 26.1 percent from the 3-point line, and 68.3 percent from the foul line with Philly.
To be honest, because there weren’t very many scoring options with the Sixers, MCW put up stats because nobody else on those rosters could. That in itself could have dropped him to eighth or ninth in these rankings and it almost did, but I can’t ignore ROY award.
The 2013 draft class includes Giannis Antetokounmpo, CJ McCollum, Steven Adams, Victor Oladipo, Dennis Schroder, and Tim Hardaway Jr. Granted only Oladipo, Hardaway, and Antetokounmpo were getting legit playing time and Antetokounmpo was still a raw talent at that point. Still winning the award over players like that is impressive and has to be factored in.
There’s no denying that he put up some empty calorie stats during his Sixers tenure, but winning ROY is the reason he was this high in these rankings. After being traded to the Bucks, he also played for the Bulls, Charlotte Hornets, Houston Rockets, and is currently on the Magic with Fultz.