Building 2024 NBA All-Rookie 1st and 2nd Teams | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors
David Schmidt
Published Mar 24, 2026
Chet Holmgren is not the only rookie making meaningful contributions to a genuine championship contender. He's not even only the rookie on the Oklahoma City Thunder bringing every-night heat.
Cason Wallace's role is more contingent than most on this list. He doesn't start, and his minutes are subject to a modicum of turbulence depending on what Josh Giddey, Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe are doing in the moment.
The 20-year-old is nevertheless still hovering around the top 10 in total court time among all rookies. That's a large enough sample when factoring in the circumstances. Earning regular minutes on a contender is muuuuch harder than getting run for teams with zero win-column expectations or alternatives.
Billed as a point guard, Wallace is more like a three-and-D wing in miniature. Almost half of his shots come as spot-up threes, which he's splashing in at a 44.4 percent clip. Oklahoma City does need him to be more aggressive when attacking off the catch, but he will, in fact, attack. And he's provided glimpses into gnarly footwork after picking up his dribble as well as quality passing in traffic.
Nobody will be smitten by Wallace's per-game lines. He's averaging under seven points per game. But his defensive body of work seals the deal for me.
This isn't someone just standing the test of opposing bench units. The Thunder have baptized him by fire, rolling him out in real volume, on islands, against star guards like Anthony Edwards, Stephen Curry, Bradley Beal, Trae Young, Jamal Murray—the list goes on. And when Wallace isn't rumbling at the point of attack, he has the speed and strength to pinball around against shooters with size who come off screens.
Whether Wallace retains this spot to close the year is debatable. Dereck Lively II and Brandin Podziemski loom, and Amen Thompson continues to expand his sample size. For the time being, "undeniably impactful player on a title contender" fuels Wallace's first-team nod.
