In a draft consisting mostly of raw, unproven athletes like Nerlens Noel, Steven Adams, Rudy Gobert and Giannis Antetokounmpo, Cody Zeller was one pick of many in a jumbled toss-up of talent. His rookie year began on a rough start, in the first half of the season he had to get used to the size and strength of the NBA big men.
He was routinely pushed and knocked around and that stigma has not been forgotten by many Hornets’ fans. However, he picked things up in the second half of his rookie season and managed to get more regular minutes as a back-up to power forward to Josh McRoberts.