© Provided by HoopsHypeFeb 28, 2021; Sacramento, California, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball (2) dribbles the ball against the Sacramento Kings in the first quarter at the Golden 1 Center.
It wasn't long ago when the consensus public opinion was that the 2020 NBA draft lacked any real star power.
Executives around the league were reportedly concerned about LaMelo Ball, specifically. Some had questions about whether or not he had a broken jump shot. Others were worried that he was tanking interviews during the pre-draft process.
Flash forward, however, and Ball is arguably enjoying one of the best first seasons in NBA history thus far and is the bonafide leader of our Rookie of the Year rankings. That just goes to show you how much the perception of a player can change in a short amount of time.
Gallery: Houston Rockets player grades for 2020-21 season through February (SMG)
Like our weekly MVP rankings, every member of our team voted on their personal Top 10 rankings for Rookie of the Year. We averaged out the results to get a cumulative ranking from the HoopsHype staff.
All relevant statistics are accurate as of March 2, 2021 and are pulled from Basketball-Reference, RealGM or NBA.com unless noted otherwise.
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