NBA Rookie Power Rankings - Our 10 best first-year players

With the NBA regular season coming to a close, it's time to unveil our fourth and final version of Rookie Power Rankings, which features a new first-year star at No. 1. Treat this as a Rookie of the Year ballot as this list is formulated based on the type of rookie season each player had, not his long-term potential or outlook.

While Caesars Sportsbook has Cleveland's Evan Mobley at -200, Toronto's Scottie Barnes at +160 and Detroit's Cade Cunningham at +800, this is as close a ROY race as I can remember with three deserving candidates at the top, each bringing something different to the table.

The 2021 draft class has lived up to the hype and then some with a handful of stars, role players and intriguing long-term prospects.

Which rookie has leapfrogged the rest of the pack to land at the top?

Stats: 17.4 PPG, 5.6 APG, 5.5 RPG

Previous ranking: 2

Although Cleveland's Evan Mobley is the betting favorite to take home the award after a tremendous season, Cunningham would be my vote given his sensational second half of the season while playing a role that no other rookie in this class has the ability to shoulder with the same level of success. Not only has Cunningham earned the respect of his peers with his unshakable confidence, methodical pace and smooth game, he has been the driving force in the newfound optimism surrounding a Pistons organization that hasn't won a playoff game since 2007-08 while playing the most coveted role in the NBA as a 6-foot-8 shot creator.

With Detroit at 23-58, Cunningham hasn't experienced the team success of Barnes or Mobley. He's not going to win any arguments with his advanced stats. But 27 different players have suited up for the Pistons this season. Detroit has zero All-Stars, with