Kristaps Porzingis and Karl-Anthony Towns named Rookies of the Month for December
Get ready for the following piece of information to become a theme:
Porzingis and Towns are clearly the first and second choices for Rookie of the Year at this point. Actually, it's more like they're choice 1a and 1b, with Towns likely edging the Zinger if only because of his monstrous December.
Porzingis' December was arguably not quite as dominant as his first month in the NBA, but he still stood out above the rest in the Eastern Conference, averaging 12.6 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game while knocking home 37 percent of his threes. At 7-foot-3 and at only 20 years old, he's provided Knicks fans with a concept with which many of them are completely unfamiliar: hope.
Towns has been a little more consistent in Minnesota, though he's flown far more under the radar, likely because of geography. It almost doesn't matter how dominant the other rookies are; if there's a fantastic, young player in New York or Los Angeles, he's going to be the guy getting the praise.
Still, Towns' December numbers are downright fantastic: 18.6 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game on 55 percent shooting. And let's not forget he's doing this in only 30.5 minutes a night. The kid is dominant already, statistically or with the eye test. Whether it's his coordination around the rim or his ability to step out and sink jumpers or his underrated passing or the way he communicates and moves on defense, Towns doesn't look like a rookie. Far from it.
No one was going to challenge him for the best rookie of December, and if he keeps trending in this direction, getting better and better as other rookies deal with completely normal rookie issues involving walls and slumps, the Rookie of the Year race may not be as close as it is right now come the end of the season.
This isn't just symbolic of the Rookie of the Year race, though. Towns and Porzingis are each just 20 years old. In the long run, it doesn't matter who's better now. This is going to be a rivalry -- probably not a contentious one given the amicable personalities involved -- for years to come. It's always exciting for fans when the two best players from the same draft class go up against each other. It becomes a real story line when they play the same or similar positions. And KAT and KP guarding each other in meaningful games could be some of the most fun basketball the NBA has to offer five years down the line.
