The Athletic NBA Daily: Rookie Rankings with Sam Vecenie & Raptors Rising

Episode Air Date: November 14, 2025
Hosts: Dave DuFour, Zena Keita, Esfandiar Baraheni
Guests: Sam Vecenie (The Athletic), Eric Koreen (The Athletic - Raptors beat)

Episode Overview

This episode dives into two key stories from around the NBA:

1. Sam Vecenie’s in-depth rookie rankings and early surprises from the 2025 class, including discussion of rising stars, scheme fit, and developmental hurdles for the league’s newest prospects.
2. A look at the surging Toronto Raptors, fresh off a statement win, with beat writer Eric Koreen joining to shed light on why the team is exceeding expectations—and what still stands in their way.

Rookie Rankings and Early Impressions

With: Sam Vecenie (01:48–20:02)

1. The Rookie Class Stands Out

• The 2025 rookie class is impressing across the board:
  “This rookie class feels special. The guys...Dylan Harper for the Spurs has just looked so good up until he was injured. I think Cooper Flagg has shown a lot of flashes that show you why he was the number one pick. Even Ace Bailey is doing stuff now that you're like, ‘Wow, these guys are very talented.’”
  — Dave DuFour (02:44)

2. Sam’s Favorite Rookie to Watch: Derrick Queen

(03:31–07:07)

• Unique offensive skill set
  “The guy that I've enjoyed watching the most probably shouldn't come as a surprise. It is Derrick Queen. I just love watching Derrick Queen play basketball...his cadence is so different than anybody else's ... DQ is gonna play with all sorts of like footwork and slow steps and d-cell and get to these shots with little up fakes and pump fakes. Like he talks about it—he grew up playing against older dudes in Baltimore ... and had to figure out how to get his shot up over some of those guys.”
  — Sam Vecenie (03:31)

• Passing and athletic nuances
  “His passing is obviously so high level ... he has the athleticism in terms of deceleration and the balance and the coordination. I mean it's kind of unbelievable watching him. But does he have the explosiveness? ... That's another place where burst matters...he's probably an underrated athlete just in terms of the balance and coordination ... But the question is the defense, right?”
  — Sam Vecenie (05:18)

• Defensive limitations
  “He's slow footed and also like disengaged unless you are attacking him.”
  — Sam Vecenie (06:14)

3. Most Surprising Rookie: Will Richard (Golden State Warriors)

(07:28–08:40)

• “Will Richard for me for sure ... He's this kid that's just a tough defender, does his job in like a very Bill Belichickian way, just plays his role ... I just didn’t think he was quite big enough and athletic enough to hold up on defense and to be able to hold up offensively... But I have him in my top 10 rookies right now ... I had him at like 76 on my board.”
  — Sam Vecenie (07:28)

4. Cooper Flagg’s Usage in Dallas: Concerns and Progress

(08:41–12:16)

• Failed Giannis Experiment
  “People bring up the idea of, ‘Oh yeah, Jason Kidd did this with Giannis’ ... Giannis was 21 and in his third NBA year ... Cooper Flagg is 18 and he's never played point guard in his life. And in his rookie year you're playing him at point...it was one of the most nonsensical things I've seen a team do in a while.”
  — Sam Vecenie (09:23)

• Numbers back up improvement next to guards

  • With D'Angelo Russell or Brandon Williams, Flagg’s efficiency and scoring drastically improve.
  • “In the five games since that change [starting Williams and Russell], he's averaging 17.2 points while shooting 45.9% from the field ... with Brandon Williams on the court, Cooper flag is averaging 23.6 points per 75 possessions, which is up from 12.9 per 75 without him ... Play him with a guard.”
    — Sam Vecenie (11:17)

5. Charlotte Hornets' Transformational Draft

(12:16–15:41)

• High character, cohesive rookies, future optimism
  “When they had this draft class ... it is a transformational draft class for them ... Concan Apple, Liam McNeely, Seon James, Ryan Kolkbrenner ... are exceptionally high character ... high level in terms of preparation ... and that's what Charlotte needed.”
  — Sam Vecenie (12:49)

• Khan Canipple—Rookie rankings #1 “Khan is number one in the rookie rankings. And that guy's like ... he was always going to be able to come in and knock down shots. He's bigger, stronger, and more physical than what he gets credit for being ... plays an incredibly efficient game and is always ready to go.”
  — Sam Vecenie (14:50)

6. Is it Time for the Sixers to Go Full Rebuild? VJ Edgecombe Analysis

(15:41–19:58)

• Are the Sixers caught in between? “I think that they are rebuilding kind of in the way they can while also having a team that, led by Tyrese Maxey, is really fun, is really awesome ... I am not somebody that really likes the idea of playing both tracks.”
  — Sam Vecenie (16:40, 17:24)

• VJ Edgecombe—Not a superstar yet, but lots to love “I'm not convinced yet that he is like some star level player ... There's a lot of work to do in terms of his handle, particularly with his left hand ... but I love the way they're utilizing him ... The name I always use is like Gary Harris with a jet pack. And that's kind of what he's been so far.”
  — Sam Vecenie (18:02)

Toronto Raptors: Team On the Rise

With: Eric Koreen (24:20–38:07)

1. Unlikely Victory in Cleveland

(24:20–26:04)

• “Did you expect to see this sort of result? I mean, this is a huge win for this team.”
  — Dave DuFour (24:53)

• “I would have predicted a loss going in, and instead what we got was ... a really thorough Raptors performance. Probably their best one of the year ... right alongside the second time they played Milwaukee ... Definitely a quality win for a team that has been trending in the right direction since a bit of an iffy start to the season.”
  — Eric Koreen (24:53)

2. Scotty Barnes Is Taking the Leap

(26:04–28:58)

• “Scotty Barnes was awesome tonight. 28 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists...five blocks, by the way.”
  — Esfandiar Baraheni and Dave DuFour (26:24–26:41)

• “I think this was on the shortlist certainly of best games I’ve ever seen Scotty Barnes play ... he was the best player on the floor and it wasn’t particularly close ... what impressed me ... was his rebounding in traffic, especially on the defensive end, and just immediately pushing the pace, like grab and go ... encouraging the Raptors to run—they had 28 fast break points against Cleveland. They lead the league in that metric this year, and he is a huge reason why.”
  — Eric Koreen (26:57)

3. What’s Different in Toronto? Depth, Cohesion, and the Bench

(28:58–32:29)

• “Before the game against Cleveland, I was joking with somebody with the Raptors: I still have no idea if you guys are any good. That person sort of agreed. I will say the biggest surprise positive for me ... was the stable play they're getting off the bench from Sandro Mamukelashvili and Jamal Shedd.”
  — Eric Koreen (29:12, 29:28)

• “Jamal Shedd is turning into one of the best backup guards in the league ... He’s such a competitive defender. The softer skills, the behind-the-scenes stuff for the Raptors, he really brings guys together ... He’s really cleaned up his playmaking and has become so much more dangerous with his drives—not only as a finisher, but just to set the rest of the offense up.”
  — Eric Koreen (30:20, 30:44)

4. Sandro Mamukelashvili’s Value Off the Bench

(32:29–35:11)

• “He’s shooting like 60% from the field. He’s shooting 43% from three ... He has been perfect for them off the bench ... earning more minutes ... we don’t have this drop off as soon as Scotty Barnes goes to the bench.”
  — Dave DuFour (32:29)

• “He looks more comfortable to me certainly defending on the wings ... If you ask him, he’s a three ... Scotty Barnes, the way he's playing defensively and providing some level of rim protection with those hybrid units allows Mamukelashvili to not have to be something he isn’t ... He makes total sense. He’s hitting his shots right now. Otherwise he'll win 6-9 of the year, if Jamal Shedd doesn’t win it.”
  — Eric Koreen (33:33, 33:58)

5. Raptors’ Holes, Ingram’s Role, and Win Projections

(35:11–38:07)

• “It does make me worry about what happens if Jakob [Poeltl] ever misses any extended time just because they will lack...rim protection and size...That is a challenge for this team. But...they look to be behind Scotty Barnes setting that identity ... I’ll give a shoutout before we go to Brandon Ingram, who...sometimes it’s nice to have a guy who can hit contested 16 footers when there’s nothing going on.”
  — Eric Koreen (35:11–36:21)

• Win projection banter:

  • “47 wins. You with me, Eric?”
    — Zena Keita (37:09)
  • “That seems high to me based on a 7 and 5 start. But look, I like the optimism ... 44, 45 seems reasonable and it's a lot better than discussing if they're winning too many games because they need to have sixth-best lottery odds or the seventh.”
    — Eric Koreen (37:28)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Derrick Queen’s style:
  “He grew up playing against older dudes in Baltimore and he plays like a guy that grew up playing against older dudes in Baltimore—had to figure out how to get his shot up ... and then grew up to be 6’9”, and is now playing in the NBA.”
  — Sam Vecenie (04:26)

• On the NBA’s developmental swings:
  “No half measures in the NBA, a lot of the time is kind of the reality of the league.”
  — Sam Vecenie (17:24)

• On Toronto’s culture shift:
  “Getting to judge a basketball team on its merits of playing basketball—hey, I’m into it.”
  — Eric Koreen (38:10)

Key Timestamps

• 01:48 – Show proper begins; rookie class setup
• 03:31 – Derrick Queen discussion (Vecenie)
• 07:28 – Surprising rookie: Will Richard
• 08:41 – Cooper Flagg, Dallas, and roster management
• 12:16 – Charlotte Hornets’ draft & philosophy
• 15:41 – Sixers’ direction & VJ Edgecombe evaluation
• 24:20 – Raptors win in Cleveland; Eric Koreen joins
• 26:04 – The emergence of Scotty Barnes
• 29:28 – The importance of Mamukelashvili and Shedd
• 32:29 – Mamukelashvili’s fit and role
• 35:11 – Poeltl’s health, Ingram’s value
• 37:09 – Raptors win total debate
• 38:10 – End of deep lottery talk in Toronto

Conclusion

This episode provides both a comprehensive snapshot of early-season rookie standout performances—delivered with Sam Vecenie’s trademark depth—and a compelling look at the Toronto Raptors’ retooling and real results on the floor.
Listeners walk away with:

• Insights on which rookies are making immediate impacts and why
• Nuance around what’s working (and not) for teams trying to blend development and contention
• Clear reasons for cautious optimism in Toronto—focusing on youth, depth, and a newly compelling culture

Read more from Eric Koreen and the entire Athletic NBA staff for further analysis and coverage.