Ayton rookie season 16 pts 10 rebs VS Allstar big men rookie seasons. Ayton often gets criticized for his rookie numbers but in comparison, he holds up pretty well. Most of them were primary options on those teams. Ayton was the clear 2nd option on a team not trying to showcase its best effort to win. Cousin and AD both had an avg of 14 pts 8 reb Hakeen 20 and 11 N. Jokic 10 and 7 (16 and 9 for his career) Duncan 21 and 11 Shaq 23 and 9 KAT 18 and 7 J. Embid 20 and 7 Ewing 20 and 9 Amare 13 and 8 KG 10 and 6 David Robinson 24 and 12 Shawn Kemp 6 and 4 Rasheed Wallace 10 and 4 Dirk 8 and 3 Ayton is 8th in scoring and 4th in rebs
Kinda hard to call him underrated when he isn’t playing. At the moment his team effectiveness was a nil.
I think he is underrated because of negative association with the Suns (same as Booker), and because Luka is incredible and Trae has been exciting. But Ayton does not have to be a disappointment for Luka to be great. All of this will change as the team becomes more competitive.
I still have high hopes for him. He has everything physically to be one of the best big men in the league. The only thing that may hold him back is how much he wants to improve.
I am confident that Ayton will be fine, but presently he is an incomplete. Playing would help. When I think of underrated, I think of unnoticed or unappreciated present or past production. Ayton does not have it.
He has only missed a handful of games this season. But the post was not about his current stats. The post was to shine a light on how productive his ROOKIE season was. The lone game he had this season he had 18 and 11 with 4 blocks. Looking at his rookie stats he is projected to make multiple all-star appearances and if his team wins maybe even the hall of fame. I am surprised at how well he did considering the sun's losing culture at the time. Fans say he did not try but to put up those stats at his age without trying is impressive to a certain degree.
A lot of this until he returns and reestablishes himself. The suspension and the reason behind it was a blow. That's why Ayton apologized.
This is the age of inflated numbers. Also, I want my cornerstone players to be available when healthy.
It depends on how you look at it. If Ayton was taking PED's it was to become a better player. To be able to work harder to play better for his teammates and fans of his team. Ayton is a muscular athlete a different body type the Cousins or Joker. He is no stranger to physical fitness. He might have taken a short cut and cost him games. He intended to improve so much so he took a risk to do it. He is for all accounts a Jr in college. That age group is going to make short-sided decisions. Ayton's body frame and skillset at this early age suggest he is a hard worker. The post was to highlight his rookie season, not a post to bash him for the mistake he is paying for.
It is a mistake the team is paying for. This isn't bowling or golf. He has let us down. I hope he looks at it from that point of view, rather than we he is paying for.
The negative criticisms weren't without merit. He was often late on defensive switches which allowed a plethora of dunks and lay-ups at the rim, and offensively he seemed too passive for a man of his size, skill and athletic ability. Now he definitely made strides in both toward the end of last season, and considering the mess the Suns were under Kokoskav its a wonder he actually put up the numbers he did. That's what is so frustrating about this suspension. Now that the Suns are actually showing some competence, you can only sit back and wonder what he'd be doing to help this team now. Sigh.
Ayton had about the rookie season I thought he had, so my expectations remained the same. But when I hear people crap on him, insist on getting rid of him, & do dumb **** like compare him to Sam Bowie, it makes me think he’s truly underrated. It would not surprise me if he averaged 24/12 in Year 3, and I think we’d all take that
