Whether it’s No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher or No. 55 Bronny James Jr., all rookies are technically prospects. Very few step on the court looking like seasoned veterans—like last year’s unicorn/Rookie of the Year Victor award winner Victor Wembanyama.

Predicting the top rookies is a different list; they are all prospects in a sense, but with nothing tangible to go on but pre-NBA experience, they have been omitted entirely. Instead, to be considered here, a player must have 1-3 years of service—anything more will be considered a veteran.

The age requirement will be below 25 to exclude international players new to the NBA, like 30-year-old Serbian guard Vasilije Micić (entering his second year with the Charlotte Hornets).

Any players with 4,500 minutes or more were also left off, regardless of age or seasons in the league. So, too, were young players like Nikola Jović (Miami Heat), who averaged over 20 minutes per game in a postseason—for our purposes, he’s already a veteran.

To identify breakout prospects, if the player received votes last year for the most improved or won Rookie of the Year (Wembanyama), they were already noticed and are off the list.