Buddy Hield?

Check.

The No. 6 pick is averaging 11.1 points and shooting 43.4 percent for the New Orleans Pelicans in December, a big bounce from the season-long averages of 8.4 ppg and 38.6 percent overall, respectively. The projections of being an NBA-ready shooter (who just turned 23 on Saturday) and after four seasons against major competition at Oklahoma, are coming into focus, at 52.1 percent behind the arc the last 10 games (25 of 48) and 61.9 the last five (13 of 21).

Kris Dunn?

Present.

The No. 5 pick, also 22 when he arrived, also after four years at a prominent program (Providence) is at 49 percent from the field the last nine games, with a 2-1 assist-to-turnover ratio in the same time. He is still coming off the bench in Minnesota, no matter how many people wrongly assumed he would blow past Ricky Rubio on the point guard depth chart. Still, Dunn is heading in a good direction.

Jaylen Brown?

Same.

The No. 3 pick has been one of the dependable shooters all along, an anomaly in this season of rookies with mangled offenses, but has pushed that to making 50 percent of his attempts the last 10 games. While the minutes have been choppy recently – 22 minutes, 22 minutes and 18 minutes in one recent stretch, then right into 11, nine and eight -- any amount of dependability is especially noteworthy for a one-and-done at California expected to need several more months to make an impact.

The top of the 2016 lottery, plus No. 8 pick Marquese Chriss in Phoenix, is re-joining the conversation for the best rookies, even if not all are in the top 10 yet and even if not the conversation for the very best of the rookies. That several of the biggest names are simultaneously on an upward trajectory is an important development no matter what. That’s particularly true in a season when the top of the charts are dominated by picks from past years or late first-rounders and second-rounders. It’s a step in the right direction for a class that can use the depth, and maybe even the name recognition.

To the rankings:

1. Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers

Last week: No. 1

The clear frontrunner is caught in Philly’s very public struggle to sort through the big-man rotation because of what could be months of lineup changes next to him. That Embiid has had an inconsistent December, the month that includes Nerlens Noel’s return from injury, makes the transition time for the 76ers at least a temporary topic worth watching in the Kia Rookie of the Year conversation. But Embiid is the one guy in the debate whose minutes won’t be impacted by the uncertainty and whose future in town is secure, so there is that sense of stability.