Two Timberwolves players were named to the NBA’s all-rookie teams Monday. The first is no surprise. The second, perhaps, a mild one.
Andrew Wiggins, fresh off winning the league’s rookie of the year award, was named to the first-team all-rookie team by the league. He was the only unanimous choice. Zach LaVine, meanwhile, was named a part of the second team.
The teams were named by a voting panel of 130 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Each voter was asked to select five players for the first team and five for the second; 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 players to earn first-team all-rookie honors.
An interesting list, considering how some of those players’ careers turned out.
Wiggins lead all qualified rookies in scoring (16.9) and was fourth in steals (1.05) and fifth in rebounding (4.6). He was the only rookie and one of just 11 players in the league to start all 82 games. He finished with a team rookie record 2,969 minutes played, second-most in the league behind James Harden.
LaVine averaged 10.1 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 77 games (40 starts). He shot 42.2 percent overall, 34.1 percent on three-pointers and 84.2 percent from the free throw line.
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 |
Meanwhile, the team anounced today the Wolves will participate in the NBA Summer League July 10-20 on the campus of the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. The Wolves will be one of 23 teams taking part in the tournament-style format.
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