How Keaton Wagler Can Win Rookie of the Year

With the fifth pick in the 2026 NBA draft, the Los Angeles Clippers select…

Keaton Wagler!

It was a consensus agreement that this recent draft was split into tiers. Tier one consisted of AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cam Boozer, and Caleb Wilson, in any order. We all knew those four names were being taken top four, regardless of what team won the honors of selecting them.

The draft really started at pick five. Clippers were awarded this draft thanks to the Ivica Zubac trade where a 2026 1-4 protected first-round pick was compensated to the Clippers. There was many directions the Clippers could have gone with this pick and they ultimately decided to take the best projected shooter in the class, Keaton Wagler. This skillet is also the key to him winning rookie of the year.

The NBA’s rookie of the year award is typically given to rookies drafted on bad teams that may rank at the bottom of either conference. Players like Cam Boozer of the Grizzlies, Darius Acuff Jr. of the Kings, and Mikel Brown Jr. of the Nets will be given more opportunities with the ball to make mistakes and learn from them, thus improving quicker and putting up better stats. They will likely also start for their respective franchises, giving them the confidence to just go out there and learn.

For Keaton Wagler and the Clippers, however, things will be different. The Clippers have had a positive record for 15 straight NBA seasons which is the longest active streak as well as the fourth longest streak in all of NBA history. Despite trading away their best players, Steve Ballmer says he never plans on doing a hard rebuild, thus a soft rebuild has begun. The difference between the two is a hard rebuild consists of multiple losing seasons in an attempt to rebuild through high draft selections while a soft rebuild consists of building through promising young players and obtaining their superstar support through free agency, which is a benefit to being located in Los Angeles.

Due to the Clippers not looking to lose, the possibilities of Wagler being able to learn from his failures will be much less than those rookies on bad teams as the Clippers will not be looking to be bad and will once again be in an attempt to make a playoff push. Wagler also may not be given the opportunity to start due to his pairing alongside Darius Garland being a question mark on the defensive end.

So how will it be possible for Wagler to win rookie of the year? There is only one way. He has to SHOOT.

SHOOT EVERYTHING.

The Clippers drafted Keaton Wagler due to his ability to shoot the lights out and they will need that immediate impact right off the bat. The likeliness of Keaton Wagler’s ability to win rookie of the year is him shooting the ball and hitting it at a high level similar to the 2026 rookie of the year runner-up, Kon Knueppel. If Wagler can provide impact through his shooting ability in ways the rookie Kon or even Klay Thompson do, then he will be able to stay on the court to improve his overall stats.

I have noted in my tweets that out of all prospects, Keaton Wagler is the biggest triple-double threat. If Wagler can stay on the court due to his shooting ability, he will be able to use his natural rebounding and playmaking abilities to impact his overall stats, thus improving his ability to win rookie of the year.

Due to the disadvantages of being drafted to a team looking to win games as well as not being likely for a starting role at any point during his rookie season, Keaton Wagler winning rookie of the year is a reach. However, he has all the tools to make the all-rookie teams and earn his way into a starting role, and if the stars align and more notable rookies do not reach the minimum game threshold, anything is possible in regards to Keaton Wagler and the NBA’s rookie of the year trophy.