LaMelo Ball is the favorite to win the Rookie of the Year award, but Karl-Anthony Towns believes his teammate is actually more deserving than the Hornets point guard.
Ball has taken the league by storm, but Anthony Edwards has put together a solid rookie campaign as well. He’s been a liability on the defensive end, but has provided a spark on offense the team has been lacking. Edwards has averaged 19.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. His three-point shooting (32.6 percent) needs to improve, though, but there’s plenty of time for that, as the former No. 1 overall pick is only 19 years old.
And if you ask KAT, Edwards’ stats dictate that he should be named ROY.
“I’ve said it since Day 1, we made the right pick,” Towns said, via The Athletic. “I don’t think there’s any question. I don’t want it to be missed. I don’t want it to be looked over. There’s a reason he was double-teamed. They should double-team him. No other rookie has earned that respect in this league. So when you go and you write your stories and your narratives and you write the truth you all write, make sure it’s the right one. That’s what journalism is all about. It’s writing the truth.”
He continued:
“There ain’t no other rookie in this league getting double-teamed. There ain’t no other rookie putting up the numbers Ant is. There ain’t no other rookie causing the havoc and mayhem before the game even starts with the scouting reports like Anthony is,” Towns said. “But I don’t want to hear nothing about no other people who are rookies. I don’t want to hear that. I don’t go by hype, I go by stats.”
Stats are only one piece of the puzzle, as Edwards has put up impressive numbers because he gets plenty of opportunities, and attempts a lot of shots. He’s a volume scorer. Ball, on the other hand — who’s averaged 16.0 points, 6.2 assists and 5.8 rebounds per game — elevates the play of all his teammates, and has given a hapless franchise hope for the future. He’d get our vote, if we had one.
