NBA Rookie Value Index: Which Teams Are Getting Minutes for the Money
Every NBA team wants rookie minutes. What separates them is what those minutes cost.
Some franchises are paying premium rookie salaries for immediate floor time. Others are quietly turning minimum-scale contracts into usable rotation pieces. The result is a wide gap in how efficiently teams are converting rookie deals into real minutes.
To capture that gap, Action Network created the NBA Rookie Value Index, which compares combined rookie salary to combined rookie minutes at the team level. The index doesn’t judge talent or predict careers. It measures how expensive—or efficient—rookie minutes became once the 2024–25 season played out.
This index looks back at how rookie contracts played out over the 2024–25 NBA regular season, using final salary figures and total minutes played to show where teams actually got return on their rookie investments.
If you enjoy breaking down edges through probabilities and pricing inefficiencies, this kind of analysis mirrors how value is evaluated on platforms like Best Prediction Market Apps, where opportunity, volume, and cost all intersect.
Key Findings From the NBA Rookie Value Index
- Atlanta is buying the most expensive rookie minutes in the NBA.
The Hawks lead all teams at $7,161 per rookie minute, driven primarily by Zaccharie Risacher’s No. 1 pick contract, even as multiple rookies log real rotation minutes. - Sacramento is getting rookie minutes for the cheapest price in the league.
The Kings rank No. 1 in value at $1,042 per rookie minute by combining low-cost rookie contracts with usable minutes across their rookie group. - The priciest individual rookie minutes belong to Reed Sheppard.
Sheppard owns the highest player-level cost rate at $16,213 per minute, highlighting how contract tier can outweigh playing time. - The best individual bargain is Antonio Reeves.
Reeves delivered rotation minutes on a minimum-scale contract, producing one of the lowest cost-per-minute figures in the league.
As the league debates this year’s Rookie of the Year race, this index offers a different lens — showing how rookie value actually materialized once games were played, rotations settled, and contracts met real minutes.
For a look at how the current rookie class is shaping the awards conversation, Action Network is tracking live Rookie of the Year odds and predictions here: NBA Rookie of the Year Odds & Predictions.
Teams Paying the Highest Price for Rookie Minutes
Before identifying bargains, it’s important to see where rookie minutes are most expensive. These teams aren’t “doing it wrong”; they’re paying the price of draft position in real time.
The chart below shows the full league-wide spread of team rookie cost per minute, from the most expensive minutes at the top to the cheapest at the bottom.
Team rankings reflect combined rookie salary and combined rookie minutes, not a single player.
1. Atlanta Hawks
Atlanta tops the league in rookie cost per minute because its rookie minutes are anchored to the highest contract tier.
Zaccharie Risacher’s No. 1 pick salary drives the cost baseline, while additional rookie minutes only marginally offset the price tag.
Key stat: $7,161 per rookie minute
2. Detroit Pistons
Detroit’s rookies are playing real minutes, but first-round contracts keep the math expensive.
Ron Holland’s salary anchors the Pistons’ rookie pool, making even meaningful floor time costly on a per-minute basis.
Key stat: $6,838 per rookie minute
3. San Antonio Spurs
San Antonio is getting rookie minutes in volume—but at premium prices.
Stephon Castle’s heavy workload comes attached to a top-four rookie contract, keeping the Spurs near the top of the cost-per-minute rankings.
Key stat: $4,422 per rookie minute
4. Charlotte Hornets
Charlotte’s rookie profile combines both extremes of the rookie market.
Low-cost minutes from Antonio Reeves help, but larger rookie contracts—led by Tidjane Salaün—keep the team’s overall rookie cost elevated.
Key stat: $4,175 per rookie minute
5. Washington Wizards
Washington’s rookies logged significant minutes, but a large rookie salary pool keeps the price high.
Alex Sarr’s contract sets the baseline, while Bub Carrington’s minutes add volume without fully offsetting the cost.
Key stat: $3,859 per rookie minute
Teams Getting the Most Rookie Minutes for the Money
At the other end of the spectrum are teams turning small rookie contracts into real, usable minutes. This is where efficiency — not draft pedigree — drives value.
Lowest rookie cost per minute
1. Sacramento Kings
Sacramento leads the league in rookie value by combining minimal rookie salary commitments with real minutes.
Low-cost contracts across the rookie group keep the Kings’ per-minute figure at the lowest level in the NBA.
Key stat: $1,042 per rookie minute
2. Cleveland Cavaliers
Cleveland’s edge isn’t volume—it’s efficiency.
Limited rookie minutes paired with extremely low rookie salary commitments keep the Cavaliers near the top of the value rankings.
Key stat: $969 per rookie minute
3. New Orleans Pelicans
New Orleans shows how quickly the math flips when low-cost rookies are trusted with real minutes.
Multiple contributors on inexpensive deals keep the Pelicans firmly in the efficiency tier.
Key stat: $729 per rookie minute
4. Denver Nuggets
Denver’s rookie value is quiet but effective.
Low-cost rookie contracts paired with selective minutes keep the Nuggets’ per-minute figure well below the league average.
Key stat: $682 per rookie minute
5. Brooklyn Nets
Brooklyn’s rookie minutes are coming at near-minimum cost.
Inexpensive rookie contracts paired with usable floor time keep the Nets among the best value teams in the league.
Key stat: $565 per rookie minute
The Most Expensive Rookie Minutes in the NBA
The player rankings below reflect full 2024–25 regular-season minutes and salary figures.
Team-level spending is one story. The player chart shows the sharper version: individual rookie minutes that come with a true price tag.
The chart below ranks rookies by cost per minute, highlighting where contract tier and playing time diverge the most.
1. Reed Sheppard — Houston Rockets
The most expensive rookie minute in the NBA. The minutes exist, but the contract sets a premium baseline that’s hard to outrun.
Key stat: $16,213 per minute
2. Rob Dillingham — Minnesota Timberwolves
A classic cost mismatch: meaningful rookie salary paired with limited playing time.
Key stat: $12,744 per minute
3. Zaccharie Risacher — Atlanta Hawks
Even heavy usage can’t erase top-pick salary math. The price tag stays elite.
Key stat: $7,162 per minute
The Best Value Rookie Minutes in the NBA
This is the other side of the rookie economy: low-cost contracts that are actually being used.
When a minimum-scale rookie earns real minutes, the value isn’t subtle — it’s immediate.
1. Antonio Reeves — Charlotte Hornets
The cleanest value story in the dataset. A minimum-scale contract turning into legitimate rotation minutes.
Key stat: $129 per minute
2. Drew Timme — Los Angeles Lakers
When opportunity meets a low-cost deal, the math flips fast.
Key stat: $336 per minute
3. Branden Carlson — Oklahoma City Thunder
Proof that it doesn’t take many minutes for a minimum contract to look like a steal.
Key stat: $347 per minute
What This Index Really Shows
The Rookie Value Index isn’t about upside or star potential. It’s a look back at which rookies actually played during the 2024–25 season — and what those minutes ended up costing.
In betting terms, this mirrors how sharp bettors look for repeatable pricing edges across the Best Betting Sites. Small inefficiencies compound. So do rookie minutes.
Expert Comment
“Rookie value is mostly a rotation story. The contract sets the price, but minutes determine the return. The teams creating value aren’t spending less—they’re trusting more.”
— Action Network Data & Research Team
Full Dataset
If you want to dig deeper, the full table below shows every rookie included in the study, along with salary and minutes that drive the index.
Bottom line: the rookie contract is the price tag, but the rotation is the return. Some teams are paying retail. Others are quietly shopping the clearance rack, and the minutes are adding up.
Methodology
The NBA Rookie Value Index uses final 2024–25 regular-season data, calculating rookie cost per minute by dividing each player’s 2024–25 salary by total minutes played. Team cost per minute is calculated as combined rookie salary divided by combined rookie minutes. Players with missing or zero salary are excluded.
Sources
NBA salary data: Spotrac, Basketball-Reference
Minutes played: Basketball-Reference game logs
Full dataset:
View the complete Rookie Value Index dataset
