Becomes first Wolves player to win Rookie of the Year honors
Minneapolis/St. Paul – The
NBA today announced Minnesota Timberwolves forward Andrew Wiggins is
the recipient of the Eddie Gottlieb trophy as the winner of the Kia NBA
Rookie of the Year Award. He is the first Wolves player to win this
award.
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). Players were
awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each
second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote.
"I
am honored and humbled to be recognized by the media for this award,"
Wiggins said. "I'd like to thank our coaches and my teammates for all
they have done to help me and support me this season. I'm looking
forward to taking my game to an even higher level next year and helping
our team make a significant improvement."
Wiggins
led all qualified rookies in scoring with 16.9 ppg, and was 4th in
steals (1.05 spg) and 5th in rebounding (4.6 rpg). He was the only
rookie, and one of just 11 players, to start all 82 games this season
and finished with a Wolves rookie record 2969 minutes played,
second-most in the NBA (James Harden, 2981). Wiggins finished the season
strong by averaging 23.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists in April.
"Andrew's
hard work and commitment to improving his game was evident by his
production on the court this season," said Wolves head coach Flip
Saunders. "We're thrilled to see him rewarded for this dedication.
Andrew has proven that he is one of our key players and a main reason
why we're excited about our future."
Wiggins
was named the Western Conference Rookie of the Month four times this
season, becoming the first player in Wolves history to earn the honor
multiple times. He tallied a rookie-leading 31 20+ point games this
season, the most such games by a rookie since Damian Lillard in 2012-13.
The
6-8 forward filled the box score with 29 points, 10 rebounds and six
assists April 10 at the Los Angeles Lakers. He scored a season-high 33
points Jan. 31 vs. Cleveland and added a season-high four steals in that
game. Wiggins scored a game-high 31 points Jan 17 at Denver, while
adding a season-high three blocks. He recorded his first career
double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds Dec. 10 vs. Portland.
As
part of its support of the Kia NBA Rookie of the Year Award, Kia Motors
America (KMA) will donate on Wiggins’ behalf an all-new and more
capable than ever 2016 Kia Sorento LX CUV to Rock of Faith Worship
Centre in the Canadian province of Ontario, where Wiggins and his family
are members. Kia Motors will present a Sorento to the charity of choice
of each of five 2014-15 year-end award winners as part of the Kia NBA
Performance Awards. After this season, Kia Motors will have donated a
total of 38 new vehicles to charitable organizations since its support
of the NBA’s prestigious honors began in 2008.
The
2014-15 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year Award is part of the Kia NBA
Performance Awards, a series of oncourt performance awards. The series,
in its eighth season, is part of a multiyear marketing partnership
between KMA and the NBA, and includes five of the league’s most
prestigious year-end honors: Kia Most Valuable Player, Kia Defensive
Player of the Year, Kia Sixth Man Award, Kia Most Improved Player
and Kia Rookie of the Year. The series also includes the Kia NBA Eastern
and Western Conference Rookies of the Month and the Kia NBA Eastern and
Western Conference Players of the Month during the regular season. Kia
Motors is the Official Automotive Partner of the NBA, and the Kia Optima
is the league’s Official Vehicle. For more information, please visit www.kia.com/NBA.
2014-15 KIA NBA ROOKIE OF THE YEAR AWARD VOTING RESULTS
| Rookie, Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 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 |
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