NEW YORK, Feb. 1, 2008 – The Toronto Raptors’ Jamario Moon and the Seattle SuperSonics’ Kevin Durant today were named the Eastern and Western Conference T-Mobile Rookies of the Month, respectively, for games played for the month of January.

For every point scored by the players named the T-Mobile Rookie of the Month, T-Mobile will donate $20 to the New Orleans Recovery School District. This month T-Mobile will donate $2,260 on behalf of Moon and $5,820 on behalf of Durant. This philanthropic component is new to the T-Mobile Rookie Program and builds on T-Mobile’s strong appeal to the nation’s youth as the official wireless partner of the NBA. Other highlights of T-Mobile’s partnership with the NBA include the T-Mobile Rookie of the Year, T-Mobile Rookie of the Month Awards, and the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam, an All-Star competition between NBA rookies and second-year players. During NBA All-Star 2008, T-Mobile Huddle Up and NBA Cares will host more than 5,000 local students in the lower bowl of the arena to watch this year’s Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam.

Moon set career highs of five steals on Jan. 18 vs. Atlanta, and 17 points on Jan. 19 at Cleveland. He also ranked seventh in the NBA in steals per turnover (1.16), increased his averages for the month by 1.0 points and 0.8 assists, and led the Raptors in blocks five times, and rebounds twice. In addition, Moon has been selected to compete in the 2008 NBA All-Star Sprite Slam Dunk contest as well as the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge and Youth Jam.

Among rookie qualifiers, for the third straight month, Durant ranked first in the league in scoring with 19.4 points per game, and seventh in rebounding with 4.0. In addition, he is ranked first on the team in assists (2.4 avg.) and free throw percentage (88.6%), as well as third in felid goals (40.0%). Durant was also selected to compete in the 2008 NBA All-Star T-Mobile Rookie Challenge and Youth Jam.

Here is a recap of the month for both Moon and Durant:

Jamario Moon, Toronto Raptors
Jan. 6 vs. Cleveland: Registered 16 points, seven rebounds and three blocks in the 93-90 loss to the Cavaliers.
Jan. 11 @ New York: Recorded 13 points, grabbed nine rebounds and four steals in a 99-90 win over the Knicks.
Jan. 18 vs. Atlanta: Posted nine points, five rebounds, two assists, three blocks and five steals in the 89-78 win over the Hawks.
Jan. 19 @ Philadelphia: Tallied a career-high 17 points, along with nine rebounds and two steals in a 99-95 loss to the 76ers.

Kevin Durant, Seattle SuperSonics
Jan. 3 @ Phoenix: Tallied 28 points, seven rebounds, and two blocks in a 96-104 loss to the Sun.
Jan. 16 @ New Orleans: Recorded 20 points, seven rebounds and six assists in the 92-123 loss to the Hornets.
Jan. 29 vs. San Antonio: Registered 26 points, seven rebounds and five assists in an 88-85 win over the Spurs.
Jan. 31 vs. Cleveland: Posted 24 points, three rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals in a 101-95 win over the loss to the Cavaliers.

Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference T-Mobile Rookies of the Month were Atlanta’s Al Horford, Houston’s Luis Scola, Philadelphia’s Thaddeus Young, Memphis’ Juan Carlos Navarro and Mike Conley, and New Jersey’s Sean Williams.