Not every rookie is immediately ready for, or gets the chance to prove himself in the NBA. Therefore, it’s definitely an advantage that most NBA teams have their own G-League teams, where these players can get their minutes, have a lot of competition, and develop their skills to be better fitted to the highest league. These rookies haven’t played a lot of minutes in the NBA, but are doing a great job in the development league.

Devonte Graham – Charlotte Hornets

Graham has had a couple of good games with the Hornets and is earning more and more playing time in the new year. In the first half of the season, he often travelled between the Greensboro Swarm and the Hornets, something he appreciated as he got to try out the skills he learned from his teammates, especially Tony Parker and Kemba Walker.

It definitely worked, as he managed to get 25.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 2 steals per game with the Swarm. So, it was no surprise the Hornets head coach Borrego saw something in him, and has tried to involve him more and more in the rotation. His last G-League assignment was back in December.

Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk – Los Angeles Lakers

Svi Mykhailiuk was a second round pick this year, but the Lakers see a lot of promise in him. He has spent quite some time with the G-League team, but so far he has been recalled everytime. In total, Mykhailiuk has only played five games for the South Bay Lakers, and if you take a look at those stats, it’s no surprise he spends most of his time in the NBA. In 32 minutes, Mykhailiuk scored 29.2 points on a field goal percentage of 49% and a 3-point percentage of 44.9%.

Luke Walton, the Lakers’ head coach, has made clear he thinks Mykhailiuk can be a great shooter and definitely a good fit for the Lakers who are struggling with hitting shots this year, but that Mykhailiuk will need to continue to work hard to earn those minutes.

Jerome Robinson – Los Angeles Clippers

Robinson was just recalled to the LA Clippers, but he performed great during his G-League assignment. He started all 11 games he played, averaging 20.5 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. On top of that, he had a pretty good field goal and three-point percentage as well.

He hasn’t been able to make the same impact in the NBA yet, but as more than two months have gone by since he made minutes in the league, it might all be a whole different case now that he’s recalled by the Clippers.

Theo Pinson – Brooklyn Nets

Pinson went undrafted this year, but got a call from the Brooklyn Nets before the draft was even over. So, when no one called for him in the second round, he signed a two-way contract with the Nets. So far, he has only played 7 games with Brooklyn, and spent most of his time with the Long Island Nets, where he has made quite an impact for the team. Just a couple of days ago, Pinson scored a career-high 43 points in a G-League games against the Maine Red Claws. Interesting to see is that Pinson has now developed a three-point shot, something he didn’t have during his time at UNC.