When Carmelo Anthony came in a surprising 64th in ESPN's #NBArank, part of the story was the player directly in front of the 10-time All-Star: No. 2 overall pick Lonzo Ball, who had yet to play in an NBA game.
Along with No. 1 pick Markelle Fultz of the Philadelphia 76ers and Dennis Smith Jr. of the Dallas Mavericks, drafted ninth, Ball was one of three rookies from the 2017 draft to finish in the top 100 of #NBArank voting. (A fourth rookie in the top 100, Fultz's Philadelphia teammate Ben Simmons, was the No. 1 pick of the 2016 draft but missed his first season in the NBA due to injury.)
Yet the record shows few rookies -- and particularly few point guards -- tend to be so valuable. Are expectations too high for this year's crop of rookie point guards?