Dalton Knecht had a dazzling shooting display in Tuesday’s win over the Jazz.

• Get NBA League Pass TODAY >

Like airports and credit cards, this is an increasingly busy time of year for the Kia Rookie Ladder.

A combination of small sample sizes when evaluating the contributions of new players, with hot weeks or streaks as they figure into their teams’ pecking order, can produce risers and fallers beyond what we get in February or March.

That was the case this week with Jared McCain of the Philadelphia 76ers and Dalton Knecht of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Rookies have reached or topped 20 points in a game 14 times in the first month of the season – and McCain has five. They’ve all come in a row since the Sixers leaned on him due to Tyrese Maxey’s hamstring absence.

Two of the remaining nine belong to Knecht, who crossed that threshold on Tuesday and scored 37 points vs. Utah. Heck, the 6-foot-1 wing scored 21 points in the third quarter alone. He tied the NBA rookie record with nine 3-pointers, prompting a nod to Michael Jordan’s hot hand in the 1992 NBA Finals against Portland — which took place nearly nine years before Knecht’s birth.

The performance also led to a satisfied, positive and profane assessment by LeBron James of a player who already appears to be a steal of the Draft.

Here’s more about them, as well as eight other sports owners in this week’s Ladder.

Weekly summary

• McCain is the fifth Sixers rookie to string together five games of at least 20 pointsalong with Joel Embiid, Allen Iverson, Jerry Stackhouse and… Lee Shaffer? For the uninitiated, Shaffer was North Carolina’s ACC Player of the Year, a 6-foot-4 forward who averaged 16.9 and 18.6 points in his first two seasons. Shaffer suffered a broken leg that limited him to 41 games in 1963-64, but what shortened his NBA career was an offer from his college roommate to become co-owner of a petroleum trucking company in Chapel Hill. The prospect of a comeback was so legitimate that his rights were included in the trade package to San Francisco (Golden State) that brought Wilt Chamberlain back to Philadelphia in January 1965.

• Movement summary: Four rookies advanced or on the Ladder this week, while six slipped or fell off their rung altogether. Welcome, Donovan Clingan, making his first appearance.

• It’s way early, but so far five of the top ten picks have been made in June Still to appear here are: Reed Shepperd (No. 3), Ron Holland II (5), Tidjane Salaün (6), Rob Dillingham (8) and Cody Williams (10).

Storyline to watch

The Stephon Castle is on the rise. The San Antonio guard’s eight double-digit scoring games come in the Spurs’ nine most recent games — all since assistant Mitch Johnson filled in for ailing coach Gregg Popovich. And with franchise man Victor Wembanyama sidelined for the past two games, Castle developed nice chemistry with backup big Charles Bassey. Castle and the Spurs will play two games against Utah this week, sandwiched around an NBA Cup game against Golden State at home.

Latest rankings

(All statistics up to and including Tuesday November 19)

1. Jared McCain, Philadelphia 76ers

Season Stats: 15.2 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 2.5 apg
Final ladder: No. 5
Concept choice: No. 16

McCain’s big jump up the ladder came from big contributions. His production this past week – 27.7 ppg, 50.8 FG%, 19.7 shots per night, including 10.7 from beyond the arc – exactly matches Maxey’s work in his seven games before his injury. Additionally, his 27.3% usage rate ranks higher than that of Devin Booker and LeBron James.

2. Jaylen Wells, Memphis Grizzlies

Season Stats: 11.5 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 1.6 apg
Final ladder: No. 1
Concept choice: No. 39

Wells has said he hasn’t had a “Welcome to the NBA” moment yet — which is a good thing, because those are often realities for a first-year player — and slipping a step this week certainly doesn’t qualify. Injuries provide opportunities for rookies, but rookies can also be surprising first responders when a team’s veterans suffer from ailments.

3. Dalton Knecht, Los Angeles Lakers

Season Stats: 11.3 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.1 apg
Final ladder: Not ranked
Concept choice: No. 17

For the record, Knecht was the Ladder Committee’s (me) preseason prediction to win the Kia Rookie of the Year award in a wide-open Draft class. Just 72 hours before his 37-point barrage on Tuesday, he scored 27 in New Orleans. And his rise coincided with the Lakers’ six-game winning streak. Lakers big man Anthony Davis said Tuesday: “He can do more than just shoot. But he’s really good at shooting the basketball. We get mad at him if he doesn’t shoot.”

4. Zaccharie Risacher, Atlanta Hawks

Season Stats: 12 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 1.4 apg
Final ladder: No. 4
Concept choice: No. 1

Defined role, consistent minutes, inconsistent shooting for the Hawks forward. After hitting six of 10 3-pointers against the Knicks, he made just 1 of 19 attempts over the next five games before Monday’s 3-of-5 in Sacramento. He was good at the line, sinking 11 of his last 13 games in three games.

5. Zach Edey, Memphis Grizzlies

Season Stats: 11.1 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 1.0 bpg
Final ladder: No. 2
Concept choice: No. 9

He did not play against the Nuggets on Tuesday after spraining his left ankle against the same foe on Sunday. The initial forecast was “week to week” for the 2.3 meter center. He averaged 11 points, eight rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game in three games.

The next 5:

6. Stephon Castle, San Antonio Spurs

Season Stats: 9.9 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 3.5 apg
Final ladder: No. 10
Concept choice: No. 4

Tips from LeBron James on Friday, big block from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Tuesday.

7. Bub Carrington, Washington Wizards

Season Stats: 10.4 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 5 apg
Final ladder: No. 3
Concept choice: No. 14

Only member of the Class of 2024 to average over 30 minutes, boosting his counting stats.

8. Yves Missi, New Orleans Pelicans

Season Stats: 6.7 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 1.1 bpg
Final ladder: No. 8
Concept choice: No. 21

The Pelicans’ best center to date has been called “a sponge” by teammate Brandon Ingram because of his knowledge.

T-10. Alexandre Sarr, Washington Wizards

Season Stats: 9.8 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 2.1 bpg
Final ladder: No. 7
Concept choice: No. 2

The lights come on, the training wheels turn off – in bursts. Like this and this.

T-10. Ryan Dunn, Phoenix Suns

Season Stats: 6.9 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 0.6 apg
Final ladder: No. 6
Concept choice: No. 28

Guarding top scorers can be a thankless job, especially when there are losses.

T-10. Donovan Clingan, Portland Trail Blazers

Season Stats: 5.7 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 2.1 bpg
Final ladder: Not ranked
Concept choice: No. 7

The defensive difference maker came within two blocks of a triple-double (17-12-8) vs. Timberwolves.

* * *

Steve Aschburner has been writing about the NBA since 1980. You can send him an email herefind his archive here And follow him on X.

The views expressed on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Warner Bros. Discovery.