Best Supercross Rookie: McGrath or Lawrence?

It’s a debate we may still be having 30 years from now: Who is the greatest Supercross rookie of all-time? Jeremy McGrath or Jett Lawrence?

The final all-time rookie report card is in and we’ve updated it to include final standings, total podiums and total top fives. As you can see, McGrath won more races than Lawrence, scored more podiums and more top fives (and did it all with one less round (16 in 1993 vs. 17 in 2024)

All-Time SX Rookie Report Card

Here are some interesting tidbits to consider that are not represented above:

McGrath

• MC won four races in a row, twice!
• MC wrapped up the championship two races early.

Lawrence

• Jett won the Daytona Supercross, running down Eli Tomac.
• Jett swept a Triple Crown race (Indy)

What you also can’t see in the report card is an analysis of the field they were against. That’s where the second chart comes in. There’s an almost overwhelming amount of info below so take it slow.

This table details the SX and MX champions who were in the 1993 and 2024 fields, as well as former winners, riders who had finished top three in those respective championships and how many total starts were represented.

That last data point is key because it’s a proxy for the amount of experience represented.

And another important note: these stats are what each rider faced AT ROUND ONE. So any rider who got a first victory (ex. Plessinger, 2024) isn’t represented.

Field of Comp: 1993 vs. 2024

*on mobile? chart swipes left!

*The “rank” column is only there so we can put the categories in the specific order we want them in. Also, MX stats represented are from 250/450 class only

Some followers on Instagram were irked that we weren’t making a bigger deal out of drawing Ryan Dungey into this comparison. It’s a worthy request; Dungey won six races, the 2010 title and actually scored more points than both Jeremy and Jett.

This is mostly because Jett hadn’t even lined up for a race in 2024 and dared to bring up the fact that McGrath’s all-time wins record of 72 was already deep in the back of his mind. But if you feel strongly that Ryan Dungey is the all-time greatest Supercross rookie, we urge you to vote below.