Sixers guard VJ Edgecombe has been named the Eastern Conference’s Rookie of the Month for March, while Kings big man Maxime Raynaud has won the award for the Western Conference, the NBA announced today (Twitter link).
Edgecombe’s win prevents Hornets wing Kon Knueppel from achieving a clean sweep of Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month awards this season. Knueppel earned the honor for October/November, December, January, and February. He was among this month’s nominees in the East, along with Wizards forward Will Riley, per the league (Twitter link).
But it’s Edgecombe that claimed the honor after an impressive March in which he averaged 18.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 4.3 assists in 32.7 minutes per game across 13 outings. He posted a solid .454/.361/.895 shooting line for the month, strengthening his case for a spot on this season’s All-Rookie first team.
Over in the West, Raynaud is the third player to receive Rookie of the Month recognition this season, joining Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (Oct./Nov., Dec., and Jan.) and Spurs guard Dylan Harper (Feb.), both of whom were nominated for the March award along with Jazz forward Ace Bailey.
Injuries to Kings centers Domantas Sabonis and Drew Eubanks have cleared the way for Raynaud to play a significant role in Sacramento’s frontcourt since the All-Star break. In 15 March appearances (all starts), he put up 17.9 PPG, 8.5 RPG, and 1.8 APG on .595/.444/.784 shooting. His most impressive individual stretch came when he had back-to-back 30-point games on March 17 vs. San Antonio and March 19 vs. Philadelphia.
Boy, the Warriors sure are stupid for picking Koby Brea–>Will Richard over Maxime Raynaud! He was right there! Perfect high scoring big, no need for KP the human question mark!
I think Edgecombe being great is not as much of a surprise as the kid from Stanford.
Max is having a very nice year and is gaining a lot of confidence.
He’s probably more of a power forward in the way he plays as he doesn’t rebound all the time and he doesn’t protect the rim.
But Max sure is fluid, sort of like a Tom Chambers with the left and the right around the rim and he mixes in plenty of opportunistic dunking.
I can see both these guys getting even better in the future. Edgecombe‘s place in his starting lineup is secure, but if Sacramento improves their roster, and Max doesn’t address his defensive shortcomings, Raynaud will be riding the bench a lot next season.
Al is loving every minute of this, haha!