10 Elite 2010s NBA Rookies Whose Careers Didn't Pan Out

Which 2010s elite NBA Rookies didn't have the career their rookie year projected they would?

It's hard to gauge how well an NBA player's career is going to go based on just one season. Even if a player has a great NBA rookie season, many factors can affect their career, such as team construction, playstyle, development, and injuries.

While there's a lot of excitement around the current crop of NBA Rookies, it's important to look back at former great rookies and learn from where their careers went wrong and how to avoid it when possible. To be clear, this list won't include high draft picks who never had NBA success. With that in mind, let's review the best rookies for the 2010s whose careers didn't pan out.

10. Landry Fields

Draft: 2010, 39th Overall Pick.

Rookie Stats: 9.7 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.2 blocks. (49.9 FG%, 39.3 3P%, 76.9 FT%)

Starting with a guy whose expectations weren't high in Landry Fields, who was a second-round pick. Despite that, Fields ended up starting all but one out of 82 regular-season games as a rookie and averaged 31.0 minutes per game for the New York Knicks. He was one of the team's best defenders despite being a rookie.

The more impressive aspect of this was that Fields was a contributor on a playoff team and was named to the NBA's All-Rookie First Team. He had the NBA world ahead of him considering he was playing in the Mecca of basketball; however, issues quickly approached in his second season. His shooting percentage dropped by 13.7 percent.

His shooting percentage never recovered from there as he only played a total of five seasons, two with the Knicks, three with the Toronto Raptors. It didn't help that he had several major injuries with the Raptors, including nerve damage in his arm, according to Eric Smith's article on SportNet.

9. Michael Carter-Williams

Draft: 2013, 11th Overall Pick.

Rookie Stats: 16.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 1.9 steals, 0.6 blocks. (40.5 FG%, 26.4 3P%, 70.3 FT%)

The 6-foot-6 was the first major star of the Philadelphia 76ers' infamous rebuild dubbed "The Process". One of the by-products of this rebuild was that it allowed players the ability to play through mistakes and get a lot more playing time than most rookies would be allowed to have. With that in mind, Michael Carter-Williams has one of the best rookie seasons in NBA history.

In his debut game against the LeBron James-led Miami Heat team, he recorded a near quadruple-double. This stat line included 22 points, 12 assists, nine steals, and seven rebounds, per Ky Carlin of Sixer Wire. He was one of three rookies in NBA history per Bleacher Report, to average at least 16 points, six rebounds, and six assists for a season; the only other players to do was Oscar Robertson and Magic Johnson. This is on top of winning Rookie of the Year and making the All-Rookie first team. However, this success wasn't sustainable.

MCW was never able to improve his scoring efficiency over time, and the Sixers ended up trading him during his second season. Soon after, he became an NBA journeyman, providing high-level defense to whichever team he was on. The only reason why MCW isn't higher on this list is due to the fact he played nine seasons and was able to have a somewhat successful NBA career.

8. Eric Paschall

Draft: 2019, 41st Overall Pick.

Rookie Stats: 14.0 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 0.5 steals, 0.2 blocks. (49.7 FG%, 28.7 3P%, 77.4 FT%)

Eric Paschall is one of the few rookies who took advantage of injuries to his teammates. In the 2019-20 season, the Golden State Warriors dealt with roster turnover and injuries, and as a result, the 6-foot-9 forward took advantage of the opportunity.

He was the fourth-leading scorer on the Warriors as a rookie and fifth among all NBA rookies in scoring per game. Only behind Zion Williams, Ja Morant, Kendrick Nunn, and RJ Barrett. However, his success was short-lived in the NBA.

In a video created by Stunted Growth, the creator goes into detail on the rise and fall of Paschall. Citing his lack of defensive versatility, poor rebounding skills, and lack of development are the reasons why the former second-round pick only lasted three seasons in the NBA.

7. Kendrick Nunn

Draft: 2019, Undrafted

Rookie Stats: 15.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 0.8 steals, 0.2 blocks. (43.9 FG%, 35.0 3P%, 85.0 FT%)

It might be considered unfair by some to have a former undrafted free agent combo guard on this list. However, Kendrick Nunn might be one of the most underrated names on this list. The Miami Heat struck gold when they signed him as an undrafted free agent after the 2019 NBA Draft.

He started in all 67 games he played in as a rookie and ended the season second in Rookie of the Year voting and made the All-Rookie First Team along with Paschall. He also had a pretty good second season with the Heat until he missed the following season, in which he was set to play a big role with the Los Angeles Lakers, due to a bone bruise in his knee.

Once he returned the following season, he was never the same, as his production took a big dip. He was out of the NBA after the 2022-23 season, which is insane that he wasn't given another chance after only one bad season with the Lakers.

6. MarShon Brooks

Draft: 2011, 25th Overall Pick

Rookie Stats: 12.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 0.9 steals, 0.3 blocks. (42.8 FG%, 31.3 3P%, 76.4 FT%)

MarShon Brooks was one of the surprise contributors from the 2011NBA Draft during his rookie season. He was the third-leading scorer among all rookies, which is impressive considering he was ahead of players like Klay Thompson, Kemba Walker, Isaiah Thomas, Ricky Rubio, Chandler Parsons, Kawhi Leonard, Nikola Vucevic, and Tobias Harris.

The 6-foot-5 wing had all the tools to be a long-standing member of the NBA based on this rookie season. However, things didn't work out as he never became efficient in his scoring and wasn't able to contribute in any other meaningful area on the floor. In his second season, his scoring dipped to 5.4 points.

He was traded to the Boston Celtics before his third season and played for the Celtics, Warriors, and Lakers, in which he didn't make a meaningful impact. He then didn't play in the NBA for three seasons before playing for the Memphis Grizzlies for an impressive seven-game stint in the 2017-18 season. He returned to the Grizzlies the following season, but his inefficiency numbers reared their ugly head yet again, thus ending his NBA career.

5. Lonzo Ball

Draft: 2017, 2nd Overall Pick

Rookie Stats: 10.2 points, 6.9 rebounds, 7.2 assists, 1.7 steals, 0.8 blocks. (36.0 FG%, 30.5 3P%, 44.0 FT%)

Few players had more hype surrounding them entering the draft than Lonzo Ball. This was thanks to his father, LaVar Ball, promoting his son and their brand, "Big Baller Brand". Essentially, following the Ball family was reality TV for basketball fans.

This hype wasn't unwarranted; despite having a bad shooting season as a rookie, Lonzo Ball was able to prove he impacted the game with his playmaking and defense. He slowly became a good shooter, and at his peak between his third and fifth seasons, he was an elite 3-and-D point guard who could also run an offense.

However, one thing became clear, and that's that his health would never let him reach his full potential. He's only played over 60 games in a single season once, and he missed two full seasons due to injuries, and at one point he had to get a meniscus transplant to replace his own. While he returned for two seasons, he was never the same, including getting cut by the Utah Jazz after being traded there last season. It will be interesting to see if he will continue his career at this point.

4. Emmanuel Mudiay

Draft: 2015, 7th Overall Pick

Rookie Stats: 12.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.0 steals, 0.5 blocks. (36.4 FG%, 31.9 3P%, 67.0 FT%)

Emmanuel Mudiay indeed had all the physical tools to become a legit NBA point guard. At 6-foot-3, he had the size and strength to impose his will, but he never was able to develop beyond his rookie year. In fact, one could argue he regressed as a player for the most part.

Outside of slightly improving as a shooter, Mudiay failed to develop as a playmaker, failing to get even close in terms of assist averages from his rookie year. On top of that, when looking at his advanced stats, he was always a bad defender and his offense never made up for it.

One of his former teammates, Mike Miller, revealed in an interview that he believed Mudiay lacked the drive to be great. Which is sad, because if it is true, Mudiay robbed himself of a successful career.

3. Marquese Chriss

Draft: 2016, 8th Overall Pick

Rookie Stats: 9.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 0.8 steals, 0.9 blocks. (44.9 FG%, 32.1 3P%, 62.4 FT%)

Once upon a time, I used to write constantly about Marquese Chriss as the co-site expert of Valley of the Suns. Chriss is arguably one of the most athletic players on this list, standing at 6-foot-9; the power forward had all the tools to be a staple in the NBA for a long time.

His rookie season showed he had potential to become a solid to very good NBA player, but the reason he's on this list isn't so much him as it's because the Phoenix Suns failed to develop him. They also gave up on the young big man pretty early, trading him in the offseason after his second season. He went on to play for four teams in four seasons before falling out of the NBA.

His lack of develop lead to him only lasting in the NBA six seasons and never averaging more than 21 minutes per game. While his lack of initial success can be blamed on a bad Suns organization at the time, his lack of career development falls on him at the end.

2. Jahlil Okafor

Draft: 2015, 3rd Overall Pick

Rookie Stats: 17.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.4 steals, 1.2 blocks. (50.8 FG%, 16.7 3P%, 68.6 FT%)

In terms of raw basketball skill, Jahlil Okafor is easily the best player on this list. His rookie stats prove he could score with the best of them. The problem wasn't his offensive skill set, which is the reason why he's on this list. There are three major factors that led Okafor to not fulfill his potential.

The NBA was going through an evaluation during the 2010s. Centers who only made their living on post skills were being faded as the geometry of the court favored the 3-point shot. Okafor was a traditional post scorer and at the time didn't have any elite offensive skill.

He also struggled defensively. Okafor wasn't the best athlete, and as the floor spacing became more important on offense, he struggled to defend in space and was never the athlete to be a rim protector. Lastly, the Philadelphia 76ers had already drafted centers Joel Embiid and Nerlens Noel (who almost made this list) before him. It was clear they weren't invested in him long-term.

He was traded halfway into his third season and quickly became a journeyman. Since the 2017-18 season, he's played for four teams in four seasons. He didn't play in the NBA from 2021-24 and made a one-game appearance during the 2024-25 season for the Indiana Pacers.

1. Josh Jackson

Draft: 2017, 4th Overall Pick

Rookie Stats: 17.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.4 steals, 1.2 blocks. (50.8 FG%, 16.7 3P%, 68.6 FT%)

It's fair to ask why Josh Jackson is higher on this list than Okafor, considering the numbers that Okafor put up as a rookie were significantly better than Jackson's. However, it's the hype that Jackson had coming into the draft that puts him higher on this list.

According to NBA Draft Room, the 6-foot-8 wing had elite athleticism and the basic skill set to be compared to the likes of Tracy McGrady and Grant Hill. He also showed enough flashes as a rookie to garner the hype. Including a highly efficient 36-point outing against the Golden State Warriors towards the end of his rookie campaign.

However, he never developed beyond his rookie campaign in terms of using NBA skills. Beyond that, he dealt with off-the-court issues as well, which surely didn't help him in free agency. Jackson played for four teams in five NBA seasons and hasn't suited up for a team since the 2021-2022 season. Considering the hype before the draft and the flashes he showed during his rookie season, it's understandable why Jackson is first on this list.

Do you agree with these2010s NBA Rookies rankings? Is there another player that should be on this list? Comment below and let us know.