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          NBA Rookie of the Year: Strengths, weaknesses for top contenders

          • Jonathan Givony
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            Jonathan Givony
            ESPN
              NBA draft analyst and writer
              Joined ESPN.com in July 2017
              Founder and co-owner of DraftExpress.com, a private scouting and analytics service used by NBA, NCAA and international teams
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          • Mike Schmitz
          Aug 23, 2019, 07:57 AM ET

          What will swing the NBA Rookie of the Year race?

          New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson is the front-runner to take the prize in 2019-20, according to the ESPN summer forecast panel. Williamson received 72.7% of first-place votes, ahead of the Memphis Grizzlies' Ja Morant (18.2%) and the New York Knicks' RJ Barrett (9.1%).

          Darius Garland (Cleveland Cavaliers), Coby White (Chicago Bulls) and Jarrett Culver (Minnesota Timberwolves) also received multiple votes. (Voters were asked for their top three most likely ROY candidates, and we calculated a weighted point total).

          To help dive into the ROY race, Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz revisit their pre-draft scouting reports on each player with some updated intel.