Golden State Warriors: Is Eric Paschall a legitimate Rookie of the Year candidate?

Golden State Warriors rookie Eric Paschall has taken Dub Nation by storm during trying times for the organization. Can he be a legitimate Rookie of the Year candidate?

The Golden State Warriors may not have many things to be optimistic about through seven games, but second-round rookie Eric Paschall is doing his best to keep basketball in the Bay Area fun and enjoyable to watch.

The Warriors have encountered a string of injury luck unmatched perhaps by any team in NBA history. On Monday night, Golden State fielded a starting five completely comprised of players who weren’t on the team’s NBA Finals runner-up roster last season.

And they did so for the second consecutive game.

Among the starters were undrafted two-way player Ky Bowman, veteran’s minimum player Glenn Robinson III, and late-first-round pick Jordan Poole. But nobody stood out quite as Paschall did.

Not Bowman who received the start at point guard after the team’s top three options were all injured. The undrafted rookie finished with 19 points and eight assists in what was a career night for him.

Not former undrafted free agent — and fellow two-way player — Damion Lee who came off the bench to drop 18 points in 29 minutes either.

Instead, the star of the show was Eric Paschall. The rookie out of Villanova outshined the Portland Trail Blazers duo of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum even with the former managing 39 points on the night.

But with chants of “MVP” roaring through the rafters in Chase Center, fans were witness to the Warriors’ first victory back in San Francisco.

And that victory was led by a man who was the third of three draft picks by the Warriors back in June. A man who saw 40 players drafted before him. But a man who may very well be the new face of a diminished Warriors roster.

Paschall dropped a career-high 34 points and 13 rebounds while shooting a healthy 11-of-19 from the field including a 4-of-6 night from three-point range. It was the first four three-pointers he had made in his NBA career.

In three of his last four games, Paschall has now finished with 20 or more points and he’s become a focal point of the Warriors team in the absence of the likes of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, D’Angelo Russell, Draymond Green, and Kevon Looney — among others.

And while it still seems like a pipe dream at this point, is it time to consider Paschall a legitimate Rookie of the Year candidate? That may seem ridiculous at first glance, but it’s something that requires further thought.

Even when Green and Looney will return, it’s unlikely that Paschall will lose his starting job. The Warriors have been struggling to find a viable option at small forward and Paschall perfectly fits the bill of what head coach Steve Kerr is looking for.

His defensive prowess and ability to defend both guards and bigs alike make him an ideal starter on the wing. And while many were already high on his defensive IQ and work ethic, few expected this type of offensive output.

He won’t be the focal point in the offense once the Warriors stars returns, but that shouldn’t matter. Not to mention the fact that Curry will be out for a number of months and Paschall’s offensive upside perhaps exceeds Green’s.

He will get opportunities, but what about his competition?

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The obvious, odds-on favorite for Rookie of the Year entering the season was first overall pick Zion Williamson. Unfortunately, a knee injury has delayed his NBA debut and he might not be back until sometime around the end of the calendar year.

And even when he returns, there are still questions about how he will play coming off knee surgery. That injury is what has left this race wide open.

If not Williamson, second overall pick Ja Morant has played exceptionally well to start the season. On a young Memphis Grizzlies team, Morant has been one of the few bright spots and might just be the current favorite to win the award.

Rookie third overall pick R.J. Barrett is averaging over 18 points per game through seven games with the New York Knicks making him a legitimate candidate as well.

Less obvious but still possible options include 13th overall pick Tyler Herro who has been tearing it up with the Miami Heat and his teammate Kendrick Nunn who may be a bigger surprise than Paschall.

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Nunn went undrafted last season and coincidentally spent the year down in the G-League with the Santa Cruz Warriors of all teams. Now, given a chance to shine in Miami, he’s taken full advantage of his opportunity.

The competition is steep and one or two games of excellent play aren’t going to propel Eric Paschall into the conversation just yet. But if he could continue to play like this, he very well might insert his name into the discussion before long.

Only one second-round pick has ever won Rookie of the Year and that was back three years ago when Malcolm Brogdon won the award. However, that was essentially a technicality since Joel Embiid pretty much had the award won before suffering a mid-February knee injury that cut his season short.

The odds are clearly stacked against Paschall — not only playing on a depleted Golden State Warriors squad but facing steep competition. But the freshly-turned 23-year-old has been battling against longshot odds his entire life.

And while the odds seem unlikely, we’ve learned already that it’s never wise to count out Eric Paschall.