NBA Rookie Rankings: Celtics' Payton Pritchard heats up; Chuma Okeke dunks on Lakers' Andre Drummond

Rookies are still reaching new heights as the season winds down

Traditionally, this would be the point in the season where teams would be unleashing a slew of their rookies and younger players as they've given up hope of securing a playoff spot. However, with the new play-in tournament introduced, only two teams have been mathematically eliminated from the postseason with just a couple weeks left of the regular season. While we haven't seen as many under-the-radar first-year players getting more looks down the stretch, we're still seeing solid performances from rookies who are playing in some surprisingly meaningful games at this point in the schedule. Now moving on to this week's rankings, which will reflect a rookie's performance on a week-to-week basis only, not the collective season. These aren't Rookie of the Year standings. With that straightened out, here is a look at the top rookies this week. Despite already being eliminated from playoff contention, the Timberwolves have suddenly started to win games, going 6-4 in their last 10 games. After Minnesota's second consecutive win over the top-seeded Utah Jazz, Edwards was asked why the Wolves have been far better down the stretch in games recently compared to the beginning of the season. Let's take a look at his answer: