Minneapolis/St. Paul – Minnesota Timberwolves forward Andrew Wiggins has been named to the 2014-15 NBA All-Rookie First Team while guard Zach LaVine has been named to the 2014-15 All-Rookie Second Team, the NBA announced earlier today. Wiggins was the lone unanimous choice, receiving 130 First Team votes.
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. 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.
LaVine averaged 10.1 ppg, 2.8 rpg and 3.6 apg in 77 games (40 starts), shooting 42.2% from the field, 34.1% from three-point range and 84.2% from the line (good for 30th in the NBA). He finished 2nd among rookies in assists, 4th in scoring and 1st in FT accuracy. LaVine set the franchise rookie single-game scoring record when he tallied 37 points April 11 at Golden State, surpassing the 35 points scored by Christian Laettner vs. Boston on Dec. 15, 1992. LaVine scored a game-high 22 points in the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge as part of All-Star Weekend in New York, and then won the Sprite Slam Dunk Contest the following night.
The voting panel consisted of 130 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada who were asked to select five players for the first team and five players for the second team, regardless of position. Two points were awarded for first team votes and one for second team votes.
Wiggins joins Pooh Richardson, Christian Laettner, Isaiah Rider, Stephon Marbury, Wally Szczerbiak, Randy Foye and Ricky Rubio as Wolves rookies to earn All-Rookie First Team honors.
LaVine joins Felton Spencer, Kevin Garnett, Craig Smith, Kevin Love, Jonny Flynn, Wes Johnson, Derrick Williams and Gorgui Dieng as Wolves rookies to earn All-Rookie Second Team honors.
Below are the 2014-15 NBA All-Rookie First and Second Teams:
2014-15 NBA ALL-ROOKIE FIRST TEAM
Player Team First (2 pt) Second (1 Pt) Total
Andrew Wiggins Minnesota 130 - 260
Nikola Mirotic Chicago 128 2 258
Nerlens Noel Philadelphia 125 2 252
Elfrid Payton Orlando 121 8 250
Jordan Clarkson L.A. Lakers 74 52 200
2014-15 NBA ALL-ROOKIE SECOND TEAM
Player Team First (2 pt) Second (1 Pt) Total
Marcus Smart Boston 28 86 142
Zach LaVine Minnesota 22 91 135
Bojan Bogdanovic Brooklyn 7 93 107
Jusuf Nurkic Denver 3 91 97
Langston Galloway New York 7 58 72
Other players receiving votes, with point totals (first-place votes in parentheses):
Rodney Hood, Utah, 54 (1); Tarik Black, L.A. Lakers, 28; K.J. McDaniels, Houston, 20; Dante Exum, Utah, 17 (3); Jabari Parker, Milwaukee, 13; Mitch McGary, Oklahoma City, 9; Aaron Gordon, Orlando, 5 (1); Spencer Dinwiddie, Detroit, 4; Jerami Grant, Philadelphia, 4; Kostas Papanikolaou, Houston, 4; T.J. Warren, Phoenix, 4; Damjan Rudez, Indiana, 3; Tyler Ennis, Milwaukee, 2; Joe Ingles, Utah, 2; JaKarr Sampson, Philadelphia, 2; James Ennis, Miami, 1; Cory Jefferson, Brooklyn, 1; Tyler Johnson, Miami, 1; Shabazz Napier, Miami, 1; Nik Stauskas, Sacramento, 1; James Young, Boston, 1.