Who Got Rookie Of The Year in the NBA?
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We take a look at who won Rookie of the Year in the NBA for each season since the award was first handed out in 1952.
Kyrie Irving
Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers was named the NBA’s Rookie of the Year, the league announced Monday. Irving received 104 of a possible 122 first-place votes from a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Kyrie Irving was the first overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. He played high school basketball for St. Patrick High School in New Jersey and AAU for theToolshed Thunder. He won the 2010 FIBA Under-17 World Championship MVP and led Duke to the 2011 NCAA national championship game, where he suffered a season-ending injury in the first half. Irving’s replacement, Nolan Smith, led Duke to their win.
Point Guard
Kyrie Irving was the first overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. He played for Duke University during his freshman year before declaring for the draft. During his rookie season, Irving was named the NBA Rookie of the Year after averaging 18.5 points, 5.4 assists, and 3.7 rebounds per game. He was also selected to play in the 2012 NBA All-Star Game, becoming the first Cavaliers’ rookie to be named an All-Star since LeBron James in 2005.
Ricky Rubio
Ricky Rubio was the recipient of the 2012-2013 NBA Rookie of the Year award. Rubio is a Spanish professional basketball player who is currently playing for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Rubio had a successful rookie season, averaging 10.6 points, 8.2 assists, and 4.2 rebounds per game.
Minnesota Timberwolves
Ricky Rubio was born on October 21, 1990, in El Masnou, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Rubió began playing organized basketball at age 14 with FC Barcelona’s youth teams. He made his professional debut with FC Barcelona during the 2007–08 season where he averaged 3.3 points per game in 37 games played.
In 2009, he was drafted fifth overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2009 NBA draft, becoming the first Spaniard ever taken in an NBA draft. In his first season with the Timberwolves, Rubio averaged 10.6 points, 8.2 assists and 4 rebounds per game. He was named to the 2010–11 NBA All-Rookie First Team and finished second in voting for the Rookie of the Year Award.
Point Guard
Ricky Rubio was born on October 21, 1990, in El Masnou, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, to Toni and Ana Rubio. Rubio began playing organized basketball at age 14 for Joventut Badalona’s youth teams. He made his professional debut during the 2006–07 season.
In the 2008–09 season, he helped his team win the Spanish King’s Cup by averaging 10.7 points and 4 assists in 25 games. After initially declaring for the 2009 NBA draft but not hiring an agent, Rubio decided to stay in Spain for two more seasons.
In June 2011, the Minnesota Timberwolves selected Rubio with the fifth overall pick in the first round of the 2011 NBA draft. He joined Kevin Love and Michael Beasley as part of a young trio that the Wolves hoped would turn the franchise around.
In his rookie season, Rubio averaged 10.6 points and 8 assists per game while shooting 38% from three-point range. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team and finished second in voting for Rookie of the Year behind Kenneth Faried of the Denver Nuggets.
Blake Griffin
Blake Griffin was the recipient of the Rookie of the Year award in the NBA. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round of the 2009 NBA draft. Griffin was a member of the All-Rookie team and also led the league in slam dunks.
Los Angeles Clippers
In his first season with the Los Angeles Clippers, Blake Griffin was named the NBA Rookie of the Year after averaging 22.5 points, 12.1 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game. The 6’10” power forward from Oklahoma instantly became one of the most popular players in the league thanks to his high-flying dunks and versatile skill set. Griffin was also named to the All-Rookie First Team and helped lead the Clippers to their first playoff berth in six years.
Power Forward
Blake Austin Griffin (born March 16, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Oklahoma Sooners, and was drafted first overall by the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2009 NBA draft. Griffin was named the NBA Rookie of the Year. He has been selected to five All-Star teams, and was named All-NBA First Team four times.
In his rookie season, playing only limited minutes per game due to injuries, Griffin averaged 22.5 points, 12.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.0 steal over 82 games played. The following year he played all 82 games and averaging 20.7 points on 50% shooting from the field, 10.9 rebounds (2nd in league), 3.2 assists and 0.5 steals in 32 minutes per game while becoming one of only four players ever to average a double-double in points and rebounds within their first two seasons in the league; Since then he has led the league in double doubles 3 times (2011–12, 2014–15 & 2015–16).
