Indiana Pacers: Chris Duarte selected to All-Rookie second team

Indiana Pacers rookie Chris Duarte was selected to the All-Rookie second team Wednesday evening. The selections were made during the start of the Western Conference Finals.

The Indiana Pacers had not had a rookie selected since Myles Turner in 2016. Chris Duarte gets some well-earned notice.

Chris Duarte did not receive any first-team votes for this selection, as the rookie class was wildly impressive this past season. He would receive 52 second-team votes, making him the least voted rookie to make the team. Nonetheless, he is in, which is well deserved.

First team: Scottie Barnes, Evan Mobley, Cade Cunningham, Jalen Green, and Franz Wagner

Second team: Ayo Dosunmu, Chris Duarte, Josh Giddey, Bones Hyland, and Herbert Jones

Chris Duarte had a very strong start to his rookie campaign, where in his first career game he would start against the Charlotte Hornets and score 27 points, converting on six of his nine three-point attempts.

Duarte started in his first 10 NBA games and averaged 16.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.4 assists while shooting over 42% from three and just over 44% from the field. It was fun to watch the 13th overall pick make an immediate impact for the Indiana Pacers.

After starting 15 straight games, Duarte would move in and out of the starting lineup as the Pacers franchise was trying to figure out how to win with the roster they had.

If you remembered early last season, Duarte was leading rookie ladders around the league. His hot start didn’t go unnoticed by the media and players as well.

Kevin Durant spoke on the rookies and Duarte while on a live show with Jamaal Crawford. His comments meant a lot to the Pacers rookie.

"“I like Duarte. We played them a couple of weeks ago. … He reminds me of an old-school shooting guard. Quick off the catch, can shoot the mid-range off a couple of dribbles, too. He got good size. I like him. I like him a lot”."

As the trade deadline came and went, the Pacers had a new-look roster after losing Caris LeVert and a handful of other guards. The organization got a new point guard in Tyrese Haliburton to be the centerpiece of a new young core and now Duarte had the chance to get all the minutes and build chemistry for next season.

Except, that wouldn’t happen. Duarte suffered a toe injury that would sideline him for most of the second half of the season. He would only play five games with Haliburton and miss the last 12 games of the year.

I think his injury hurt the chances of him moving up into the first team, but this rookie class was so talented and Duarte’s season was still impressive. I think if his toe was right we could have seen some big number outings with him having more freedom on the floor in a down year in Indiana.

Duarte himself took to Instagram to share his thoughts on being named All-Rookie.

"“I want to say thank you to God, the Indiana Pacers, and also my teammates for giving me the opportunity to demonstrate my talent and what I am capable of. This couldn’t have been done without them.”"

This is a great honor for the Pacers rookie and a well-deserved one at that. Hopefully next season Haliburton and Duarte will develop their game and bring forth the next great Indiana backcourt.