For 31 games, the NBA's Rookie of the Year Award looked like Joel Embiid's to lose.However, a season-ending meniscus tear dashed those thoughts and muddied the waters.As a result, the final vote figures to be rather close as ballot-casters debate whether Embiid's historic production in a smaller sample trumped more consistent efforts put forward by Milwaukee Bucks guard Malcolm Brogdon and Philadelphia 76ers forward Dario Saric.With the reveal tabbed for June 26 in New York City as the league gets ready for its first awards show, here's a rundown of the top contenders and a look at which player could come away with the coveted hardware when all is said and done.If we were simply taking per-game numbers into account, Embiid would be the runaway winner. However, it's impossible to ignore that he played in just over a third of the Sixers' total games due to the meniscus tear and the rest plan he adhered to when healthy.As NBA.com's Scott Howard-Cooper wrote: "He was immediately one of the top defensive centers and showed good offensive rhythm in general but especially for someone in a minutes straightjacket. Healthy Embiid lapped the field for Rookie of the Year, maybe more than once, before knee trouble changed the race and his season."The Sixers still have a solid representative in Saric even if Embiid is out of the equation, but it's tough to advocate for his candidacy over Brogdon considering his production didn't spike until after Ersan Ilyasova was traded to the Atlanta Hawks at the trade deadline.Specifically, Saric averaged17.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists after the All-Star break. Those numbers compared quite favorably to his pre-All-Star splits of 10.8 points, 5.9 boards and 1.8 dimes a night.Then there's Brogdon, whose campaign was more consistent top-to-bottom on balance.Not only was the second-round pick a steady backcourt contributor all year long as he blew expectations out of the water, but he shot the ball with remarkable consistency. In fact, he was one of 22 playersand the only rookieto shoot at least 45 percent from the field and 40 percent from three while tallying better than 10 points a night.The Bucks also posted a net rating of plus-2.7 points per 100 possessions with Brogdon on the floor. Conversely, the Bucks were outscored by 1.7 points per 100 possessions when he sat."I think he should be rookie of the year, for what he has done being drafted in the second round," Bucks head coach Kidd said, per the Journal Sentinel's Charles F. Gardner. "That's probably being a little biased."I think it's a great story. He's a student of the game. He works extremely hard, not just on the court but off the court, studying film and asking questions."It may be the unlikely choice given Embiid's high profile, but Brogdon was unquestionably the steadiest rookie during a year defined by ebbs and flows from first-year players.Stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com.
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