Cavs’ Irving deserves NBA Rookie of the Year

REGENBURG (David Hein’s Eye on the Future) – With the NBA regular season coming to an end today, it’s due time for Eye on the Future to name the NBA Rookie of the Year for 2012. And the winner is…

…Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The first overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft was outstanding all season for the lowly Cavs, averaging 18.5 points, 5.4 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 1.1 steals.

The Melbourne native shot 47 percent from the field while hitting nearly 40 percent from long range and 87 percent from the free-throw line.

Irving, who turned 20 in March, put up impressive numbers as the main man in Cleveland while giving Cavs fans at least a bit of hope in the post-LeBron James era. He scored at least 20 points 26 times including nine games of 25 points or more, proving he can get baskets if his team needs them – something the Cavs definitely did this season.

Irving also was able to spread the ball around with 5.4 assists. He turned the ball over 3.4 times, which is a lot, but he was a 19-year-old for much of the season with the ball in his hands most of the time. He also proved to be a strong rebounder with at least six rebounds in nine contests.

In all, this probably won’t be a close vote as there isn't really a leading second contender and Irving put up more-than-solid numbers.

Ricky Rubio of the Minnesota Timberwolves appeared to have a good chance of winning the award but the Spanish playmaker went down with a torn ACL in early March and missed the rest of the season.

The 21-year-old averaged 10.6 points, 8.2 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 2.2 steals in the more open NBA game and had 12 double-doubles. He did struggle a bit shooting the ball at a 35 percent clip, though he surprised some observers by hitting 34 percent of his three-pointers.
 
In all, the Spaniard can be pleased with his rookie campaign as he silenced his critics and confirmed his supporters and their high praise of him.

Second in the voting could be Kenneth Faried of the Denver Nuggets. The power forward played just three of the first 21 games of the season but came on strong with impressive numbers in March and April – averaging 11.7 points and 7.8 rebounds and 11.4 points and 9.2 rebounds respectively.

He also had six double-doubles in a nine-game stretch in April.

Despite being picked last in the draft and standing only 1.75 (5ft 9in) tall, Isaiah Thomas had a superb rookie campaign for the Sacramento Kings.

The product of Washington was installed as the Kings playmaker on February 17 and he scored in double-figures in 29 of the next 36 games including three double-doubles and 11 games with at least seven assists (he averaged 4.1 for the season) while only turning the ball over 1.6 times per game. And despite his diminutive stature, Thomas also grabbed 2.6 rebounds. 

Klay Thompson – the 11th overall pick – entered the Golden State Warriors starting line-up in mid-March and scored in double-figures in 26 of the final 27 games, including 11 games of 20 points or more. He ended up averaging 12.5 points per game while shooting 42 percent from long range.

MarShon Brooks was selected 25th overall out of Providence and was a major contributor for the New Jersey Nets, averaging 12.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists with nine games of at least 20 points.

Playing alongside Irving, Tristan Thompson – the fourth pick – really stepped up his game starting in mid-February and he collected eight double-doubles, including an impressive 27 points, 12 rebounds showing against New Jersey. Despite being impressive on the offensive glass, Thompson shot just 44 percent as a low post player.

And here is a look at a trio of international players.

Philadelphia 76ers center Nikola Vucevic produced when given playing time with nine games of at least nine points and seven rebounds including two double-doubles. However, the Montenegro big man was never given consistent minutes.

Utah Jazz’s Turkish center Enes Kanter got even less time but also produced, averaging 8 points and 8.3 rebounds in the six games with at least 20 minutes of action.

Charlotte Bobcats newcomer Bismack Biyombo was a defensive and rebounding force with nine games of at least four blocks and 11 contests with double-digit rebounding. But the Congo native was next to no help offensively.
 
David Hein

FIBA

FIBA’s columnists write on a wide range of topics relating to basketball that are of interest to them. The opinions they express are their own and in no way reflect those of FIBA.

FIBA takes no responsibility and gives no guarantees, warranties or representations, implied or otherwise, for the content or accuracy of the content and opinion expressed in the above article.