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 rookie salary to minutes played. The index doesn’t judge talent or predict careers. It measures how expensive—or efficient—rookie minutes are right now.
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 by Zaccharie Risacher’s top-pick contract, even with 1,843 minutes played. - Sacramento is getting rookie minutes for the cheapest price in the league.
The Kings sit No. 1 on value at $1,042 per rookie minute, turning low-cost minutes from players like Daeqwon Plowden into immediate surplus. - The priciest individual rookie minutes belong to Reed Sheppard.
Sheppard owns the highest player cost rate at $16,213 per minute, a reminder that rookie deals can be expensive even when minutes are real. - The best individual bargain is Antonio Reeves.
Reeves sits at just $129 per minute, delivering rotation minutes on a minimum-scale salary.
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.
1. Atlanta Hawks
Atlanta tops the league in rookie cost per minute because it’s buying minutes at the highest possible contract level.
Zaccharie Risacher has logged heavy playing time, but a No. 1 pick salary keeps every possession priced at a premium.
Key stat: $7,161 per rookie minute
2. Detroit Pistons
Detroit’s rookies are playing, but premium contracts keep every minute expensive.
Ron Holland’s first-round salary drives much of that math, where even real rotation minutes struggle to offset the contract baseline.
Key stat: $6,838 per rookie minute
3. San Antonio Spurs
San Antonio is getting rookie minutes in bulk—but at first-round prices.
Stephon Castle’s workload highlights the tradeoff: heavy minutes, but a top-four rookie contract that keeps costs elevated regardless of usage.
Key stat: $4,422 per rookie minute
4. Charlotte Hornets
Charlotte’s rookie profile is split between bargain contracts and premium salaries.
Low-cost minutes from Antonio Reeves help, but the salary weight tied to Tidjane Salaün and KJ Simpson keeps the team’s overall cost-per-minute high.
Key stat: $4,175 per rookie minute
5. Washington Wizards
Washington’s rookies have logged significant minutes, but a large rookie salary pool keeps the price elevated.
Alex Sarr’s contract anchors the cost, while Bub Carrington and Kyshawn George add volume that still can’t outrun the salary math.
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 because it’s operating at the cheapest possible entry point.
Minutes from Daeqwon Plowden—and a low-cost rookie salary pool overall—keep Sacramento’s per-minute figure pinned to the floor.
Key stat: $1,042 per rookie minute
2. Cleveland Cavaliers
Cleveland’s edge isn’t volume—it’s efficiency.
Rookies like Luke Travers and Jaylon Tyson have delivered usable minutes without expensive contracts dragging the number upward.
Key stat: $969 per rookie minute
3. New Orleans Pelicans
New Orleans shows how quickly the math flips in a team’s favor when low-cost rookies are trusted.
Value minutes from low-cost contributors like Trey Alexander help 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 minutes from Spencer Jones illustrate how even modest floor time becomes surplus when the salary baseline is small.
Key stat: $682 per rookie minute
5. Brooklyn Nets
Brooklyn’s rookie minutes are coming at near-minimum cost.
Tyson Etienne’s playing time captures the Nets’ approach: inexpensive depth that keeps the per-minute math favorable.
Key stat: $565 per rookie minute
The Most Expensive Rookie Minutes in the NBA
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 about who actually plays and what those minutes cost.
Teams creating value aren’t finding loopholes. They’re trusting low-cost rookies with real minutes. Teams paying the most aren’t failing — they’re absorbing the cost of draft position and development timelines.
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 calculates rookie cost per minute as Salary 2025 ÷ 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
