Was Dyson Daniels snubbed from Rookie of the Year?

Orlando Magic forward – the first overall pick in the 2022 Draft – Paolo Banchero has been named the 2022-23 NBA Rookie of the Year (ROY).

That news should not come as any surprise to anyone, as Banchero has been the runaway favorite for most of the year – as evidenced by his receiving 98 of the 100 available first-place votes. On the season, Banchero averaged a tantalizing points/rebounds/assists per game slash line of 20.0/6.9/3.7.

For those wondering, here are the full voting results:

Oklahoma City Thunder rookie Jalen Williams came in second place, the Utah Jazz’s Walker Kessler came in third, Bennedict Mathurin of the Indiana Pacers finished fourth, the Sacramento Kings playoff starter Keegan Murray finished fifth, and Detroit Pistons rookie Jaden Ivey finished in sixth.

So what about New Orleans Pelicans rookie Dyson Daniels?

As the eighth overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, Daniels surely had an outside shot of competing for the ROY award. Or, at the very least, he had a reasonable chance of receiving some second or third-place votes. Instead, he didn’t receive anything.

So, what happened?

Daniels’ season began promising, as the rookie even garnered 11 starts in the early portion of the season when the team was still in the mix for home-court advantage in the Western Conference Playoffs (man, that feels like a lifetime ago).

However, his great start was derailed after an ankle injury against the Denver Nuggets in late January caused him to be sidelined for 12 straight games. During that time, the Pelicans acquired Josh Richardson from the San Antonio Spurs at the trade deadline.

So, when Daniels returned from his injury in late February, the crowded wing/forward room (one that included Richardson, Brandon Ingram, Trey Murphy III, Herbert Jones, and Naji Marshall) diminished his role, making it hard for him to get consistent minutes.

After returning from injury on February 25th, Daniels only played 20+ minutes in a game in 3 of the team’s final 21 regular season contests. Overall, he ended the year averaging 3.8 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 2.3 APG, and 0.7 SPG. A stat line that pales in comparison to the one we just listed for Banchero.

Daniels still has a good chance of blossoming into a highly-impactful player, but it makes sense why he didn’t receive any recognition from voters for the ROY award.