Look at 2017. Seriously. If you're a sports fan, that year feels like a fever dream now. It was the year of the "super-rookie," a time when a bunch of kids didn't just show up—they basically grabbed their respective leagues by the throat.
But here is the thing. When people talk about the 2017 Rookie of the Year, they usually mean one specific guy. Usually Aaron Judge. Or maybe Alvin Kamara if you're a fantasy football nerd. But the reality is that 2017 was a statistical anomaly across the board. We had a second-round pick winning in the NBA, a guy hitting 52 homers in the Bronx, and a Saints duo that broke the NFL's brain.
It was chaos. Beautiful, record-breaking chaos.
Aaron Judge and the Year the Bronx Actually Rose
Honestly, what Aaron Judge did in 2017 shouldn't have happened. He’d had a cup of coffee in the big leagues in 2016 and, frankly, he looked lost. He struck out in nearly half his at-bats. People were calling him a "bust" before he even got a full season.
Then April 2017 hit.
Judge didn't just win the AL 2017 Rookie of the Year; he became the first rookie ever to win the Home Run Derby. He smashed 52 home runs, breaking Mark McGwire’s old rookie record of 49. It was a unanimous vote. Thirty ballots, thirty first-place votes. You don't see that often. He led the American League in runs (128) and walks (127), too.
The most "Judge" stat of all? He had a 495-foot home run against the Orioles. That's nearly 1.5 football fields. He also struck out in 37 straight games at one point, which is also a record. He was the ultimate "all or nothing" player that year, and mostly, it was "all." Over in the National League, Cody Bellinger was busy doing his own thing, hitting 39 homers for the Dodgers. It was the first time ever that both winners in the same year were unanimous.
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The NBA's Most Controversial "President"
If baseball was about the giants, the NBA's 2017 Rookie of the Year race was about the guy nobody saw coming. Malcolm Brogdon.
Wait, who?
Exactly. Brogdon was a second-round pick, the 36th overall. He wasn't supposed to be here. Usually, this award goes to the #1 pick who puts up 20 points a game on a terrible team. But 2017 was weird. Ben Simmons was out with a broken foot. Joel Embiid played like an MVP but only appeared in 31 games.
Brogdon won by being... solid. He averaged 10.2 points and 4.2 assists. Those aren't "superstar" numbers. In fact, he’s the only player in NBA history to win Rookie of the Year without winning a single Rookie of the Month award. Not one.
His nickname was "The President" because of his poise and how he talked. He just worked. He shot 40% from three. He helped the Bucks actually win games, which the voters cared about more than Dario Saric's scoring totals in Philly. It’s still a debated win to this day, especially by Sixers fans who think Embiid’s 31 games were more valuable than Brogdon’s 75.
The Saints Sweep: Kamara and Lattimore
The NFL in 2017 belonged to New Orleans. Period.
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It is incredibly rare for one team to have both the Offensive and Defensive 2017 Rookie of the Year. It’s only happened twice in history (the other was the 1967 Lions).
Alvin Kamara was a human joystick. He wasn't even the starter to begin the year—remember Adrian Peterson was there? The Saints traded Peterson away because Kamara was too good to keep off the field. He finished with 14 touchdowns and over 1,500 yards from scrimmage. He joined Gale Sayers as the only rookies with 5+ rushing TDs, 5+ receiving TDs, and a return TD in one season.
Then you had Marshon Lattimore.
He didn't just play well for a rookie; he was a lockdown corner from Day 1. He had five interceptions and 18 passes defended. Quarterbacks literally stopped throwing his way by November. If you want to know why the Saints went from three straight 7-9 seasons to a 11-5 contender, look no further than these two.
Hockey's Four-Goal Statement
Up north, the NHL 2017 Rookie of the Year (the Calder Trophy) went to Auston Matthews. If you want to talk about a "hot start," this is the gold standard.
Matthews scored four goals. In his first game.
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Four.
He ended the season with 40 goals, becoming the first rookie to hit that mark since Alex Ovechkin. He was 19. He basically carried the Toronto Maple Leafs back into the playoffs and ended a decades-long drought of the team having a true, transcendent superstar.
Why 2017 Still Matters
You've got to look at where these guys are now. Judge is a Yankee captain with a 62-homer season under his belt. Matthews is the face of the NHL. Kamara is a Saints legend.
The 2017 Rookie of the Year class wasn't just a flash in the pan. It was a shifting of the guard. It taught us that "rookie status" doesn't mean you can't be the best player on the field or court immediately.
What you should do next:
If you're looking to understand the value of these players for historical context (or maybe your 2026 dynasty league), check the "Total Win Shares" for the 2017 class compared to 2018 or 2019. You'll see that the 2017 group has a significantly higher "hit rate" for All-Star appearances. Also, take a look at the contract extensions signed by the 2017 ROY winners—they represent nearly a billion dollars in total value, proving that the 2017 season was the most lucrative rookie "audition" in modern sports history.