Ben Golliver: Joel Embiid, 76ers

It’s time for the NBA to consider killing the Rookie of the Year and replacing it with a Rising Stars Award that recognizes the best age-22 or younger player (ideally, no player could win the award more than once). If the Rising Star award started this season, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Nikola Jokic, three franchise players who are having major impacts on their respective teams, would all be strong candidates. Instituting this new award would make for a strong, lively debate about their futures and some trickle-down love for the likes of Myles Turner, Kristaps Porzingis, and Gary Harris.  

Instead, the league is left with a Rookie of the Year award field that lacks a truly deserving candidate. As hard as it is to rationalize giving the honor to Joel Embiid, who missed his first two rookie seasons due to injury and held up for just 31 games this season, the Sixers center was leaps and bounds better than anyone from the 2016 draft class. He paced all rookies with at least 300 minutes played in PER, averaged nearly twice as many points as Malcolm Brogdon, shot better than 40% on threes, posted a sterling 99.1 defensive rating, and led Philadelphia to a 13-18 record while in the lineup (compared to 15-35 when he sat). It’s tough to get too worked up over the possibility of snubbing Brogdon (10.3 PPG, 4.3 APG), who led all rookies on Win Shares, given that he’s already 24, started fewer games than Embiid and filled a narrow role for a good-not-spectacular Bucks team. Third place goes to Philadelphia’s Saric (12.9 PPG, 6.4 RPG), who picked up his numbers down the stretch in Embiid’s absence and is one of only two rookies to log at least 2,000 minutes (through Monday).   

Andrew Sharp: Joel Embiid, 76ers

Don't tell me he didn't play enough games! First of all, there are no rules for any of these awards—we're not electing Joel Embiid to Congress (but should we? can we?). Second, Embiid is quite literally the rookie of this year. In two weeks or 20 years, if anyone talks about rookies who emerged in the 2016-2017, the conversation will begin and end with the player who played 31 games. I like Dario Saric and I've liked Malcolm Brogdon since the draft, but they're not in the same category. 

When Embiid was healthy, he was the most effective rim protector in the league. He had the Sixers—the Sixers!—working with a positive net-rating with him on the floor. He put up Wilt Chamberlain numbers. He was the biggest story in the league a few months into the year, and he actually made the Sixers a good team for a not-insignificant period of time. 

It's not to say that his injury is meaningless. Of course it matters that Embiid missed a little more than half the season. But he was so much better than every other rookie in an underwhelming draft class, he should win anyway. Even if we decide his season is 62% less impressive because of the 62% of Sixers games he missed, it's still more memorable than 100% of his peers. Again, these awards are only valuable for history's sake. History should reflect that even 37.8% of Joel Embiid had a bigger impact on the league than any other rookie we saw this year.

Rob Mahoney: Dario Saric, 76ers

Joel Embiid deserves joint custody of this award—one that would have been his if he could only stay healthy. Every voter has their arbitrary thresholds and 31 games played with 786 minutes just isn’t enough for me when solid candidates have logged more than double the minutes. Of them, I like Saric. It’s hard to work as a versatile, playmaking big on a team that lacks for order and spacing. Saric found his lane. Brogdon’s season undoubtedly meant more considering that he plays for a more competitive team, but Saric’s edge in productivity and successes in spite of an uphill grind endear me to his case.

Rohan Nadkarni: Malcolm Brogdon, Bucks

Give me Brogdon, who has played a significant role on a playoff team. The Embiid situation is the elephant in the rookie room, but I just don’t feel comfortable giving a year-long award to someone who only played 31 games. We’re splitting hairs, but the award is not for most talented rookie. From start to finish, Brogdon has had a solid if not spectacular rookie campaign. Embiid will be up for many awards throughout his career provided he’s healthy enough to take the court. Availability is important, and Brogdon has earned the distinction of Rookie of the Year.