Yahoo Sports AM: Who are the best rookies ever?

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🚨 Headlines

🏀 Butler saga continues: The Heat suspended Jimmy Butler indefinitely after the disgruntled star walked out of their Monday morning shootaround amid trade demands. It’s his third suspension this month.

🏈 Rising up draft boards: Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter’s odds to be the No. 1 pick have shot up from +1000 to +200 in the past week amid “best player in the draft” hype. He now trails only Miami QB Cam Ward (+120).

🏀 55 straight: No. 2 South Carolina beat No. 18 Tennessee, 70-63, for their 55th consecutive SEC victory. The Gamecocks (20-1) have also won 15 straight overall, including the last five against top-20 opponents. Defending champs looking dangerous.

⚖️ Golden cleared: The University of Florida cleared men’s basketball coach Todd Golden of a Title IX complaint that included allegations of sexual harassment and stalking of multiple women, including Florida students. The school said it found “no evidence” of a violation.

💔 Tragedy in Colorado: A spectator was killed on Sunday at a high school track meet in Colorado Springs when a hammer weight flew past the barriers and struck him in the stands. The man was pronounced dead at the scene.

🏆 The best rookies ever

Commanders QB Jayden Daniels just completed one of the best rookie seasons in NFL history. How does it stack up against other first-year campaigns in the NFL and beyond?

We picked our top three rookies across the “Big Four” North American sports leagues (plus some honorable mentions). This is a subjective list! You’re allowed to disagree!

🏈 NFL

1. WR Randy Moss, Vikings (1998): Perhaps the best WR ever not named Jerry Rice, Moss caught a league-high 17 TDs and finished third in MVP voting. And who can forget one of the most iconic stat lines in NFL history: 3 catches, 163 yards and 3 TD on Thanksgiving Day.

2. LB Lawrence Taylor, Giants (1981): The only rookie ever to win Defensive Player of the Year, L.T. dragged the Giants back to the playoffs for the first time in nearly two decades. And thus began arguably the greatest defensive career the sport has ever seen.

3. QB Jayden Daniels, Commanders (2024): Speaking of dragging teams to the playoffs, Daniels set NFL rookie QB records for rushing yards (891) and completion percentage (69%) and took a franchise that went 4-13 last season to its first NFC title game since 1991.

Honorable Mention: RB Jim Brown, Browns (1957); CB Ronnie Lott, 49ers (1981); RB Eric Dickerson, Rams (1983); QB Dan Marino, Dolphins (1983); DE Jevon Kearse, Titans (1999); RB Edgerrin James, Colts (1999); QB C.J. Stroud, Texans (2023)

⚾️ MLB

1. CF Mike Trout, Angels (2012): The best player of his generation might have had his best all-around season right out of the gates, amassing a career-high 10.5 WAR that ranks as the third-best non-Barry Bonds mark by any player this century.

2. RHP Dwight Gooden, Mets (1984): Doc broke into the majors with a bang at just 19 years old, winning the NL Cy Young while leading all of baseball in strikeouts (276), WHIP (1.073), hits per nine innings (6.6) and strikeouts per nine innings (11.4).

3. CF Fred Lynn, Red Sox (1975): Lynn led the league in runs, doubles and OPS en route to becoming one of only two players in MLB history to win ROY and MVP in the same season (Ichiro). Did we mention he also made the All-Star Game and won a Gold Glove?

Honorable Mention: 2B Jackie Robinson, Dodgers (1947); 3B Dick Allen, Phillies (1964); LHP Fernando Valenzuela, Dodgers (1981); C Mike Piazza, Dodgers (1993); RF Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners (2001); 1B Albert Pujols, Cardinals (2001); RF Aaron Judge, Yankees (2017); 1B Pete Alonso, Mets (2019)

🏀 NBA

1. C Wilt Chamberlain, Warriors (1959-60): Wilt averaged a hilarious 37.6 points and 27.0 rebounds en route to becoming the first of two rookies (Wes Unseld) to win MVP. There’s a reason the NBA recently renamed its ROY award after him.

2. PG Oscar Robertson, Royals (1960-61): The Big O nearly averaged a triple-double (30.5 points, 10.1 rebounds, 9.7 assists) for Cincinnati. He finished third in MVP voting and was named All-Star Game MVP following his 23-point, 14-assist, 9-rebound performance.

3. SG Michael Jordan, Bulls (1984-85): Jordan joined Robertson as the only rookies to average 25-5-5, so the stats were obviously there. But it was MJ’s impact on the game and the culture that really moved the needle. His arrival changed the NBA forever.

Honorable Mention: C Wes Unseld, Bullets (1968-69); C Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bucks (1969-70); PG Magic Johnson, Lakers (1979-80); SF Larry Bird, Celtics (1979-80); C David Robinson, Spurs (1989-90); C Shaquille O’Neal, Magic (1992-93); C Victor Wembanyama, Spurs (2023-24)

🏒 NHL

1. RW Teemu Selänne, Jets (1992-93): The Finnish Flash scored a rookie-record 76 goals, which is still tied for the fifth-highest mark by any player. He added 56 assists for a career-high 132 points, which is 23 more than any other rookie in NHL history.

2. C Wayne Gretzky, Oilers (1979-80): The Great One began his NHL career by winning his first of eight consecutive Hart Trophies (MVP) at the tender age of 19. He wasn’t technically considered a rookie after spending a year in the WHA, but we’re counting him anyway.

3. LW Alex Ovechkin, Capitals (2005-06): The Great Eight (52 goals, 54 assists) narrowly edged Sidney Crosby (39 goals, 63 assists) for the Calder Trophy after finishing third overall in scoring. He remains the only rookie this century to top 50 goals.

Honorable Mention: G Terry Sawchuk, Red Wings (1950-51); G Tony Esposito, Blackhawks (1969-70); RW Mike Bossy, Islanders (1977-78); D Ray Bourque, Bruins (1979-80); C Mario Lemieux, Penguins (1984-85); G Martin Brodeur, Devils (1993-94); C Sidney Crosby, Penguins (2005-06)

🎾 Kings of the Court: The “Big Two” rises

Jannik Sinner is as unassuming as superstars come, but whatever he lacks in swagger he more than makes up for in performance, with his latest triumph in Melbourne continuing one of the hottest stretches of tennis in recent memory.

By the numbers: The Italian sensation has gone 80-6 over the past 12 months, winning three Grand Slams, the ATP Finals, the Davis Cup and five other trophies. On Sunday, he became the first man in history to win 10 straight matches against top-10 players without dropping a set.

• Sinner is the fifth man this century to win three majors in a span of five (Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz) and the fifth ever to win three straight hard court majors (Federer, Djokovic, Ivan Lendl, John McEnroe).

• Since first ascending to No. 1 in June, he’s gone 47-3, which is tied for the best record ever through the first 50 matches as the top-ranked men’s player.

Exclusive club: Sinner is the eighth man to win each of his first three Grand Slam finals, joining Alcaraz as the second to accomplish the feat in the past seven months.

Changing of the guard: While Djokovic remains a serious threat to win majors at age 37, the “Big Three” era has largely given way to the “Big Two” era, with the 23-year-old Sinner and the 21-year-old Alcaraz emerging as the faces of the sport.

• There’s still plenty of time for a third rival to emerge, perhaps from the stacked crop of youngsters at the top of the rankings (seven of the top 20 are under 24). But for now, Jannik and Carlos have separated themselves from the pack, combining to win the last five majors.

• Their budding rivalry has been fascinating so far, with the flashier Spaniard claiming more attention, more Slams (4-3) and a head-to-head edge (three straight wins), while the reserved Italian has put together the more dominant run and currently looks unbeatable.

The lost generation: Sinner’s latest victim, world No. 2 Alexander Zverev, is among a group of players born in the 1990s who couldn’t get past the Big Three at the tail end of their reign and are now getting shut out by the Big Two at the beginning of theirs. The numbers tell the story:

• Players born in the 1980s have won 80 Grand Slams and players born in the 2000s have already won seven, with Alcaraz and Sinner a perfect 7-0 in finals.

• Meanwhile, players born in the 90s have won just two Grand Slams (Daniil Medvedev and Dominic Thiem). They’ve reached 22 major finals but lost almost all of them to Djokovic (8), Nadal (5), Sinner (3) and Alcaraz (2).

Looking ahead: Sinner has aced nearly every on-court test recently, but soon he’ll face a critical off-court battle, too. In April, the Court for Arbitration of Sport will hear an appeal from the World Anti-Doping Agency regarding two positive steroid tests that Sinner returned last March. He maintains his innocence, but faces the possibility of a one- or two-year ban.

🏀 “The Diff”

I can’t stop laughing. The Cavs are really doing first grade math for their viewers.

Tired of watching basketball with a calculator? Sick of doing subtraction when all you want to do is be a fan? Get back in the game with “THE DIFF,” the latest groundbreaking broadcast innovation from FanDuel Sports Network Ohio, your home for Cleveland Cavaliers basketball.

🇫🇷 Paris dispatch: “Basketball Empire”

Lindsay Sarah Krasnoff, author of “Basketball Empire: France and the Making of a Global NBA and WNBA” and reader of this newsletter, was in Paris for the NBA’s annual showcase. Here are some highlights from our conversation about the sights, sounds and history, accompanied by some mural artwork she photographed in a city playground.

The NBA descended on Paris this past week, bringing a bit of joie de hoops to the city where Team USA and Team France faced off in the men’s and women’s Olympic gold medal matches this past summer. Five months later, it’s Spurs vs. Pacers.

Basketball has enjoyed a post-Paris 2024 bounce here, while the profile of French players in the U.S. continues to grow. San Antonio superstar Victor Wembanyama was the main attraction all week in a city where playground courts pay homage to him and other greats (see photos).

The City of Light has a rich hoops history that dates back to 1893, when the Paris YMCA hosted the first game on European soil just two years after the sport was invented (on a court that still exists!). In 1919, the city hosted the first international tournament during the Inter-Allied Games.

And you can’t talk about being French in the NBA without talking about women. Wemby’s mother, Elodie de Fautereau, played and now coaches; NBA champion Boris Diaw’s mother, Élisabeth Riffiod, was an icon in the 1970s; Tariq Abdul-Wahad, the first Frenchman in the NBA, grew up idolizing his mother’s teammate, Denise Curry, a star for UCLA and Team USA.

Buy the book: Basketball Empire: France and the Making of a Global NBA and WNBA

✍️ Extra points

🏀 Back-to-back-to-back? Two-time reigning NBA Slam Dunk champion Mac McClung will be the fourth and final participant in next month’s competition, where he’ll aim to become the first player to three-peat.

⛳️ Tiger tops Rory: Tiger Woods’ Jupiter Links bested Rory McIlroy’s Boston Common in overtime to win what was by far the most entertaining TGL match to date. Star of the night? Tom Kim, who was born for match play.

🏀 What a shot! Unranked Arizona pulled off an 86-75 (OT) upset over No. 3 Iowa State after Caleb Love nailed a buzzer beater from well beyond half court to send the game to overtime.

🥳 Birthday boys: Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (turning 28), cornerback Cooper DeJean (22) and practice squad safety Andre’ Sam (26) will all be celebrating birthdays on Super Bowl Sunday. “It’s a great birthday gift,” said Barkley.

🏀 Welcome back, Commodores! Vanderbilt’s men’s and women’s basketball teams both returned to the AP poll this week for the first time in over a decade, with the men coming it at No. 24 (first ranking since 2015) and the women at No. 23 (first ranking since 2014).

📺 Watchlist: The Pitino Special

Rick Pitino’s current program takes the court tonight as a ranked team, and so do the two programs where he spent the majority of his coaching career.

• No. 15 St. John’s at Georgetown (6:30pm ET, FS1): The Red Storm are 17-3 in their second season under Pitino and have their highest ranking since 2014.

• No. 12 Kentucky at No. 8 Tennessee (7pm, ESPN): Pitino coached the Wildcats from 1989-97, reaching three Final Fours and winning the 1996 national title.

• Wake Forest at No. 21 Louisville (7pm, ACC): Pitino coached the Cardinals from 2001-17, reaching three Final Fours and winning the 2013 national title (vacated).

More to watch:

• 🏀 NBA: Lakers at 76ers (7:30pm, TNT); Bucks at Trail Blazers* (10pm, TNT)

• 🏒 NHL: Capitals at Flames (9pm, ESPN+); Stars at Golden Knights (10pm, Disney+)

*Coming in hot: Damian Lillard returns to Portland fresh off recording his first two triple-doubles as a Buck, followed by a 35-5-8 performance on Monday. Will the Blazers’ all-time leading scorer fill up the stat sheet against his former team?

🏀 NBA trivia

The Knicks recently became the fourth NBA franchise to reach 3,000 wins. Can you name the other three?

Answer at the bottom.

📸 Photo finish: Philly’s finest

Once the clock struck zero on Sunday and the Eagles were officially Super Bowl-bound, Philadelphia fans descended on Broad Street to do what they do best: celebrate with each other in increasingly dangerous ways.

Quotes about The City of Brotherly Love:

“New York is a place where people go to reinvent themselves; Philadelphia is a place where people discover who they are.” (Chef Peter McAndrews)

“I love the dignity in the name Philadelphia, but at heart, we’re Philly.” (Author Lisa Scottoline)

And who can forget this one…

“All told, Philadelphia stadiums house the most monstrous collection of humanity outside of the federal penal system.” (The Worst Sports Fans in America, GQ Magazine, 2011)

Trivia answer: Celtics (3,666), Lakers (3,576) and 76ers (3,118)

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