Basketball fans are giddy with excitement at the prospect of two of the best young talents in the country battling it out this coming season for the coveted Rookie of the Year award. The Detroit Pistons' first overall pick, Cade Cunningham, is expected to go neck-and-neck against Jalen Green, who was selected second by the Houston Rockets.
As it turns out, however, the race might not be as close as most people would assume. According to ESPN's panel of experts, Green should come away with the Rookie of the Year trophy quite convincingly.
Both Green and Cunningham were impressive during the Summer League. Nevertheless, ESPN has Green as the heavy favorite to win the ROY award in 2022. The Rockets stud garnered 72.2 percent of the first-place votes in the mock poll, while Cunningham settled for just 27.8 percent.
Green hasn't been shy about his claim that he should have been the first overall pick. Many believe that the Rockets guard will come out with a chip on his shoulder in his rookie campaign, and it looks like the folks over on ESPN agree.
For his part, this prediction likely won't sit well with Cade Cunningham. He too is out to prove that he's deserving of being the first overall pick and there's no better way to prove that in Year 1 than by winning the Rookie of the Year honor.
For what it's worth, Jalen Suggs of the Orlando Magic ranked third in ESPN's ROY prediction. The Cavs' Evan Mobley was fourth, while Scottie Barnes of the Orlando Magic rounded out the Top 5.
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