Why Deandre Ayton is one of the most impactful rookies in the NBA

Former Arizona Wildcat and No.1 NBA Draft pick Deandre Ayton is currently the top ranked, drafted rookie for having the highest impact in games.

Are we really surprised by the immediate successes of Deandre Ayton? As an Arizona Wildcat he did it all and in the NBA he is doing more of the same.

Only eight games into his NBA career, and the former Arizona big man is producing at an incredibly high level. Even though the Phoenix Suns are currently in last place in the Western Conference with just one win, that hasn’t stopped Ayton from having a big impact on his team.

Arizona Wildcats

One way the NBA measures this is by using the PIE rating, or player impact estimate. The league ranks each players’ impact per game based on a formula which takes into account every statistic.

Those statistics are then weighed against every other player in the same game. The outcome of the formula equals a percentage of positive things for that player in that game. The actual formula the NBA uses to calculate PIE is: (PTS + FGM + FTM – FGA – FTA + DREB + (.5 * OREB) + AST + STL + (.5 * BLK) – PF – TO) / (GmPTS + GmFGM + GmFTM – GmFGA – GmFTA + GmDREB + (.5 * GmOREB) + GmAST + GmSTL + (.5 * GmBLK) – GmPF – GmTO).

Did we lose ya? That’s okay! It’s a fairly complicated formula, but what it essentially boils down to is, what percent of game events did that player or team achieve (or how much did that player impact that game).

Currently, Ayton ranks 36th in league, and ranks first among all drafted NBA rookies with a PIE rating of 15.7. Former teammate Allonzo Trier is 9th among all rookies with a rating of 11.7 overall.

Other notable rookies like; Trae Young, Luka Doncic, Marvin Bagley III and Wendell Carter, Jr. all rank 116th, 124th, 127th and 132nd respectively. Not too shabby for Ayton at all!

So far this season, Ayton is is averaging 16.9 points per game, 11.0 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. All the while, he is shooting a ridiculous 62.5% from the field and 75% from the free throw line. He’s done all this while missing star teammate Devin Booker for some time, and playing 31.6 minutes per game.

Let’s also not forget about his double-doubles so far. The rookie already has five this season, with his most recent coming against Toronto, in which he had 17 points and 18 rebounds.

Are you kidding me!? Yes, while the Suns ended up losing in that one, they at least have to be proud and hopeful in what they are seeing out of him so far.

It is worth noting, that Ayton is just third among all NBA rookies in points per game, sitting behind only Young and Doncic. However, he does lead all rookies in rebounding with a total of 88 rebounds, in second is Bagley III, with 62. To put that into perspective, Ayton ranks 8th among all players in total rebounds.

Having all the expectations and pressure of being the No.1 draft pick has not phased Ayton at all. Many will only looking at the scoring, but the Suns drafted on need and potential, and Ayton does so many things well, that he truly is already a complete player.

The rookie has delivered as promised, and now the Suns just need some more consistent production out of some of their other starters and support players to become a more complete team.

While in all likelihood that doesn’t happen this season, I feel Phoenix still made the right choice in drafting Ayton. Him and Booker are key pieces to this teams’ future, and could become a playoff team soon if they just build around this foundation.

Here’s a few highlights from Ayton in their game versus the Memphis Grizzlies over a week ago:

It’s early in the 2018-19 NBA season, but Ayton is already taking the NBA by storm and proving why he is the most impactful rookie so far. If he keeps up these stats, he has a real chance to be the NBA Rookie of the Year. Bear Down, Arizona!