This is the season when being considered one of the top rookies comes with an eye roll and a laugh track in some cases, when the newcomers are anything but and the debate is as old as the prospects.

Philadelphia rookie Joel Embiid was in the 2014 draft and is drawing an NBA paycheck for the third season, rookie Andrew Harrison practiced some with the Grizzlies in 2015-16 while officially redshirting in the D-League, and Malcolm Delaney joined the Hawks as a 27-year-old rookie after spending five seasons in Europe, which would be wild except that Jonathan Gibson arrived in Dallas as a 28-year-old rookie after six seasons everywhere from China to Israel and Italy to Iran.

It’s college careers, too, not just the overseas background that has become prominent among the best newcomers of 2016-17: While five of the top eight selections in June left school after one season – Ben Simmons, Brandon Ingram, Jaylen Brown, Jamal Murray and Marquese Chriss – and No. 10 Thon Maker jumped from high school in Canada, the list of best rookies is dominated by the older and more experienced players.

Only two one-and-dones are ranked, Murray and Ingram. Otherwise, it’s Embiid at 22 years old and after two seasons on NBA sidelines recuperating from foot injuries, teammate Dario Saric at 22, Malcolm Brogdon days past his 24th birthday and after four seasons at Virginia, just the start to the common theme that continues down The Ladder even as Delaney drops off and Gibson hasn’t quite joined the party. In an era when spending two years in college wrongly makes a prospect appear unwanted, the early trend in 2016-17 is that experience matters.

A lot, actually. Everyone except Murray and Ingram completed at least a sophomore season in college or played elsewhere professionally or, in the case of Embiid, didn’t play anywhere professionally. That has often triggered debate about rookie status, but the league has remained clear and consistent. Rookie standing begins with the first NBA game. (That can work the opposite as well. When Julius Randle fractured his right leg on opening night 2014-15, his rookie campaign had come and gone in 14 minutes, without the chance for an actual first year in 2015-16.)

Given the one-and-dones projected to flood the 2017 lottery, with the possibility that the first eight picks and maybe even the first 10 could be entering the NBA after freshmen seasons, the current look is probably an anomaly. And it took at least one unique situation – the rarity of a top prospect, Embiid, missing two seasons in a row after being drafted – to get here. But it doesn’t change the bottom line that age and experience are a benefit for the best of the current class.

1. Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers

Last week: 1



Welcome to the first sign of trouble. Embiid is shooting 39.2 percent in December, albeit just three appearances on his rationed role, and 40.5 percent his last five games. It will take several more weeks of slump to put his hold on the top spot at risk, but the clear Rookie of the Year favorite hasn’t made at least half his field goals since Nov. 21. He is still rebounding and blocking shots, though, and, in the especially promising news for the campaign, now gets six consecutive games before the next 76ers back-to-back will mandate sitting out.

2. Dario Saric, Philadelphia 76ers

Last week: 2



Saric has solidified his hold on second place by averaging 12.3 points and 5.7 rebounds while making 47.3 percent of his attempts the last six games. The shooting number is especially welcome for someone at just 39.6 for the season, even with the recent upward trend. The six outings in December also include three with at least seven rebounds without playing more than 27 minutes, helping him maintain second place in the class on the boards as well as second in scoring and fourth in minutes.