The Mavericks organization and many of its fans believe that No. 9 overall draft pick Dennis Smith Jr. will be such an on-court sensation that could leap-frog the eight players selected before him and win NBA Rookie of the Year honors.
That, however, is hardly an unbiased opinion, is it?
Kudos to NBA.com's John Schuhmann for delving into the minds of Smith's peers and emerging with a less-partisan view. Earlier this month, Schuhmann surveyed 39 rookies from the 2017 draft Class. A little more than one-fourth of them (25.7%) tabbed 6-foot-3, 190-pound Smith as this season's Rookie of the Year favorite.