2026 NBA Rookie Stats: Leaders in Points, Rebounds and Assists
Darius Acuff Jr. leads 2026 NBA rookies at 25.4 points and 7.2 assists. Here's who leads every category and whose numbers hold up per minute.
Darius Acuff Jr. leads the 2026 rookie class in points (25.4) and assists (7.2) through Friday's games. The counting stats crown him. The efficiency numbers point to Yaxel Lendeborg, even after his 1-of-13 night in San Antonio.
Every number below is on our sortable 2026 NBA rookie stats table, through games of Nov. 13. Per-36-minute figures are calculated from Basketball-Reference season totals.
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The rookie leaders right now
- Points: Acuff, SAC, 25.4 · Lendeborg, GSW, 20.2 · Caleb Wilson, CHI, 18.9
- Rebounds: Cameron Boozer, MEM, 9.8 · Lendeborg 7.4 · Wilson 6.2
- Assists: Acuff 7.2 · Boozer 5.3 · Kingston Flemings, ATL, 4.1
- Steals: Wilson 1.8 · Darryn Peterson, UTA, 1.2 · Meleek Thomas, CLE, 1.2
- Blocks: Aday Mara, OKC, 1.8 · Wilson 0.9 · Peterson 0.8
- Minutes: Acuff 37.1 · AJ Dybantsa, WAS, 33.8 · Boozer 31.6
Acuff's 25.4 is a volume number
Acuff plays 37.1 minutes a night, more than any rookie, and takes 21.8 shots per 36 minutes. His 51.9 TS% is the lowest of the top four rookie scorers, and he's 37 of 113 from three (32.7%). That is what a 20-year-old carrying a bad offense looks like.
The passing is the part the box score undersells. His 7.2 assists come with 3.7 turnovers per game, and CBS Sports has him 13th in the league in potential assists. Friday was a quieter night: 17 points and 6 assists in a 120-107 loss to Portland.
He's No. 3 on our live 2026 NBA redraft, up four spots from the No. 7 pick. For dynasty, the role is locked in. The efficiency has to come up before he's a top-two asset.
Lendeborg still owns the per-minute numbers
Friday was ugly. In his first game as the lead option with Stephen Curry out, Lendeborg went 1 of 13, scored 3 points and finished minus-40 in a 123-85 loss to the Spurs. He told ESPN he was flustered all game. His scoring average dropped from 21.7 to 20.2.
One game doesn't erase 12. Lendeborg is still the only top-six rookie scorer above 55 TS%, at 60.8. Per 36 minutes he gives you 23.1 points, 8.4 rebounds and 4.0 assists, and he's made 29 of 70 threes (41.4%). He holds No. 1 on the live redraft from pick 11, and FanDuel had him the Rookie of the Year favorite at +115 before Friday, per CBS.
The next two weeks are the real test. With Curry expected to miss about two weeks, per NBA.com, defenses will load up on Lendeborg every night.
Peterson is the hottest scorer in the class
Peterson scored a career-high 28 on Friday, 9 of 20 with four threes, in a 125-118 loss at Houston. That's five straight 20-point games, which makes him the first Jazz rookie since Donovan Mitchell to do it, per NBA.com.
His season line (17.2 points, 53.4 TS%) still carries a slow start. The detail to like is ball security: 2.0 turnovers per 36, the lowest of any rookie playing 30 minutes, and 88.4% shooting at the line on 43 attempts. With Utah missing Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr., CBS notes his on-ball role isn't shrinking soon. He's No. 2 on the redraft. Our view: he passes Acuff for good if the shooting holds through November.
Boozer fills the sheet but can't find the rim yet
Boozer's per-36 line is the most complete in the class: 17.7 points, 11.2 rebounds, 6.0 assists. Memphis is 8-4. On Friday he had 12 points and 10 rebounds in a 142-111 win in New Orleans.
The shooting is the problem: 37.0% from the field and 21 of 71 from three (29.6%). The hopeful sign is the foul line, where he's 46 of 51 (90.2%). That touch is why the jumper should come. He sits No. 4 on the redraft, one spot below his draft slot.
The efficiency leaders nobody took early
The best shooting in this class is coming from the bench:
- Meleek Thomas, CLE (pick 34): 13.0 points in 22.4 minutes, 26 of 55 from three (47.3%), 62.6 TS%. That's 20.8 points per 36. He's up 23 spots to No. 11. He scored 12 in 18 minutes at Miami on Friday, per NBA.com.
- Bennett Stirtz, OKC (pick 16): 21 of 47 from three (44.7%), 63.1 TS%, 1.1 turnovers per 36.
- Aday Mara, OKC (pick 12): 63.1 TS% and 3.1 blocks per 36, the best rim protection in the class. Up five spots to No. 7.
- Trevon Brazile, DEN (pick 35): 63.7 TS% and 10.3 rebounds per 36. Up 21 spots to No. 14.
The caveat is sample size. Fifty-five threes is a small sample, and one cold week could knock several points off Thomas' percentage. But the redraft is already weighting results at 80% (w = 0.8 after 12.2 team games), so these climbs aren't noise.
Dybantsa and Wilson are behind on efficiency
The top pick is No. 6 on the redraft. Dybantsa missed the first four games with an ankle sprain, per CBS, and he's at 48.5 TS% with 7 of 30 from three. Wilson has the class lead in steals and 22.1 points per 36, but 23 of 71 from three and 1.9 assists against 2.7 turnovers per game. Both have the tools. Neither has the efficiency yet.
How this class compares to last year's
Last season Cooper Flagg led all rookies at 21.5 points over 81 games, and Kon Knueppel was second at 18.3, per Basketball-Reference. This year, three rookies are above Knueppel's mark and Acuff is above Flagg's. Flagg shot 47.2% from the field. Of this year's top scorers, only Lendeborg is shooting close to that, at 48.6%.
Early averages fade as defenses adjust, so treat the 25.4 as a ceiling, not a pace. Last year's class re-ranked is on the live 2025 NBA redraft.
What to watch next
Lendeborg gets his first bounce-back chance at New Orleans on Monday. Peterson's streak is the story in Utah. Watch whether Boozer's three-point percentage gets near 33% by Thanksgiving. The redraft and the stats table update every morning.
Keep going
The 2026 NBA redraft re-sorts every morning with the latest games.
