Andrew Wiggins named NBA Rookie of the Year
The Minnesota Timberwolves' Andrew Wiggins, who led all first-year players in scoring, is the recipient of the Eddie Gottlieb Trophy as the 2014-15 NBA Rookie of the Year, the NBA announced today. He is the first Canadian-born winner of the award and the first player in the Timberwolves' 26-year history to earn the honor.
Wiggins, 20, received 110 of 130 first-place votes and 604 total points from a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. The Chicago Bulls' Nikola Mirotic finished second with 335 points (14 first-place votes), and Nerlens Noel of the Philadelphia 76ers was third with 141 points (three first-place votes).
Wiggins averaged 16.9 points, the second-best mark by a rookie in Minnesota history, behind Christian Laettner's 18.2 points in 1992-93. He appeared in all 82 games and ranked fourth in the NBA with a rookie-leading 36.2 minutes, the highest average ever by a Timberwolves rookie.
| Name | Team | 1st (5 pts.) | 2nd (3 pts.) | 3rd (1 pt.) | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Wiggins | Minnesota | 110 | 17 | 3 | 604 |
| Nikola Mirotic | Chicago | 14 | 81 | 22 | 335 |
| Nerlens Noel | Philadelphia | 3 | 22 | 60 | 141 |
| Elfrid Payton | Orlando | 3 | 8 | 40 | 79 |
| Marcus Smart | Boston | -- | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| Jusuf Nurkic | Denver | -- | 1 | -- | 3 |
| Jordan Clarkson | L.A. Lakers | -- | -- | 2 | 2 |