Stephon Castle (left) and Ajay Mitchell are 2 of the top sophomores in the NBA this season.
Despite strong reviews for the mini-tournament format used for the Castrol Rising Stars Challenge on Friday at All-Star Weekend, it might be worth considering a throwback approach to the event next year in Phoenix.
As in: straight-up rookies vs. sophomores.
The reason is simple: Anticipation of a deep, talented Draft class coming out this June is off the charts, while the league’s current crop of rookies has already provided a bevy of strong contributors in 2025-26. Pitting the likes of Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel, VJ Edgecombe and their fellow 2025 draftees against hot prospects such as Darryn Peterson, AJ Dybantsa, Cameron Boozer, Caleb Wilson and others could dial up the excitement without a need for target scores or short clocks.
Frankly, the Class of 2024 could be forgiven if it wanted something similar this year. A group that got a bit sullied through all the talk of a “down year” – meaning, a ‘tweener class between Victor Wembanyama’s arrival in 2023 and this Flagg/Knueppel edition – still feels a wee underappreciated.
“I think we’re a little bit slept on,” Memphis Grizzlies swingman Jaylen Wells said at All-Star Weekend. “There were a lot of narratives going into the Draft about how we were going to perform. You look down the line, there’s a lot of good players – maybe we don’t have a star yet, but we’re gonna fill a roster.”
Wells, drafted No. 39 overall out of Washington State, was a sleeper pick who performed his way onto the All-Rookie First Team. San Antonio’s Stephon Castle came with a flashier pedigree – No. 4 pick off the NCAA champion UConn squad – and wound up as Kia Rookie of the Year last spring. But he felt some class kinship too.
“We might be overshadowed by how good the next two classes have been, but we still have a pretty good class,” Castle said. “I’m trying to do my part at least. A lot of guys haven’t been playing as well as they want to, but we have a lot of potential in our class.”
This week’s pause between regular-season games provides an appropriate time to check in on the players who competed a year ago for the award Castle won.
In the spirit of NBA.com’s weekly Kia Rookie Ladder, we’re presenting a one-off “Sophomore” Ladder to see how those guys moved up or down, while helping their teams (or not) across another span of 82 games.
For review, here is how the Class of 2024 stacked up on the final Kia Rookie Ladder last spring:
1. Stephon Castle, San Antonio Spurs
2. Zaccharie Risacher, Atlanta Hawks
3. Alexandre Sarr, Washington Wizards
4. Kel’el Ware, Miami Heat
5. Jaylen Wells, Memphis Grizzlies
6. Yves Missi, New Orleans Pelicans
7. Zach Edey, Memphis Grizzlies
8. Isaiah Collier, Utah Jazz
9. Bub Carrington, Washington Wizards
T-10. Donovan Clingan, Portland Trail Blazers
T-10. Kyle Filipowski, Utah Jazz
The list below is a jumble of the above, some players dropping off due to opportunities or injuries, others moving up as late bloomers.
It’s no indictment of Wells, Zaccharie Risacher, Yves Missi, Zach Edey or anyone else, other than to say their futures still are ahead of them.
While there is no trophy associated with this competition, one could be named for Rick Barry, the sharpshooter who averaged 35.6 points – with no 3-point line – in his second season with San Francisco in 1966-67.
(Wilt Chamberlain’s Year 2 numbers – 38.4 ppg, 27.2 rpg – were even better than his first, but he’s already got the ROY trophy named after him.)
“Sophomore” ranking
(All stats through Thursday, Feb. 12)
1. Stephon Castle, San Antonio Spurs
Season stats: 16.5 ppg, 5 rpg, 7 apg
2024 Draft pick: No. 4
All-Rookie team?: Yes, First Team
Last year’s winner of the Chamberlain Trophy would be the front-runner for any hardware for best follow-up season among 2024 arrivals. Castle is playing point guard almost twice as much this season while upping his production in most categories. His stellar game vs. Dallas Feb. 7 — 40 points, 12 rebounds, 12 assists — was his second triple-double of the season. He has been the recipient of, and giver of, big-time appreciation with league “old heads.”
2. Donovan Clingan, Portland Trail Blazers
Season stats: 11.6 ppg, 11.5 rpg, 1.4 bpg
2024 Draft pick: No. 7
All-Rookie team?: Yes, Second Team
The Portland big man, who turns 22 on Monday, is the only double-double guy by averages in this class. He’s had 21 games with at least 10 points and 10 boards, and with resounding production in the Blazers’ getaway game at Utah on Thursday, Clingan put himself in some rare company.
3. Alex Sarr, Washington Wizards
Season stats: 17.2 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 2 bpg
2024 Draft pick: No. 2
All-Rookie team?: Yes, First Team
Sarr is scoring nearly 22 points per 36 minutes played. He has upped his shooting accuracy from 39.9% last season to 49.6%. And even without the offensive improvements, his work at the defensive end would justify his minutes.
4. Ajay Mitchell, Oklahoma City Thunder
Season stats: 14.1 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.7 apg
2024 Draft pick: No. 38
All-Rookie team?: No
Mitchell hasn’t played since Jan. 21 (abdominal strain), which has accentuated his value to the Thunder: They are 37-6 with him, 5-8 without. That poses a legit chicken-or-egg question about Mitchell’s runaway plus/minus stat with the sophomore class – he’s at +401, more than double Detroit’s Ron Holland II, next in line at +175.
5. Matas Buzelis, Chicago Bulls
Season stats: 15.2 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 2.1 apg
2024 Draft pick: No. 11
All-Rookie team?: Yes, Second Team
A flurry of deadline trades jumbled the Bulls’ rotation and chemistry, which will be new challenges for Buzelis (adding strength has been a nagging one). Patience is wearing thin among fans, though the lanky second-year forward has shown enough flashes to justify his confidence. “I’m fully capable of becoming a great player, and this is just the process it’s going to be for me,” he said.
6. Kyshawn George, Washington Wizards
Season stats: 15.1 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 4.8 apg
2024 Draft pick: No. 24
All-Rookie team?: No
Few players in the league, never mind just the rookies, have taken bigger steps from last season to this than George. His stats are up across the board and he has earned more on-ball responsibilities from the Wizards, leading his team in touches.
7. Isaiah Collier, Utah Jazz
Season stats: 10.4 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 7.4 apg
2024 Draft pick: No. 29
All-Rookie team?: No
Averaging more assists and fewer turnovers than the starter (Keyonte George) he backs up, Collier’s per-36 numbers land him second in the NBA with 10.5 assists, trailing only Denver’s Kia MVP contender, Nikola Jokić (11.2). The sturdy Jazz point guard is a runaway leader in cumulative assists (802) and assists per game (6.7) among the Class of 2024.
8. Kel’el Ware, Miami Heat
Season stats: 11.3 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 1 bpg
2024 Draft pick: No. 15
All-Rookie team?: Yes, Second Team
Considered a “Wemby Lite” for his build and skill set relative to Spurs star Victor Wembanyama, Ware’s determination to work through Erik Spoelstra’s tough coaching is paying off. “Just staying true to it all,” he told Essentially Sports at All-Star Weekend. “If something is meant for you, it will find its way to you. As long as you keep your head down and keep working, everything will flip around.”
9. Reed Sheppard, Houston Rockets
Season stats: 12.7 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 3 apg
2024 Draft pick: No. 3
All-Rookie team?: No
The 6-foot-2 combo guard from Kentucky has been the Rockets’ steadiest reserve. He has scored in double digits 34 times in 53 games, compared to just six in 52 appearances in 2024-25. And he’s making a conscious effort to handle physical defense, facing or playing.
10. Jaylon Tyson, Cleveland Cavaliers
Season stats: 13.9 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 2.3 apg
2024 Draft pick: No. 20
All-Rookie team?: No
Another strong candidate for the mythological Most Improved Rookie honor, adding more than 10 points per game to his scoring average thanks to earning almost triple his first-year minutes. His 3-point accuracy has jumped from a solid 34.5% in limited opportunities a year ago to 47.5%, second-best in the NBA.
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Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.
