Kyrie Irving Wins NBA Rookie of the Year

This year's number one overall draft pick did not disappoint, as Kyrie Irving was named the winner of the 2011-2012 Eddie Gottlieb Trophy as the NBA's Rookie of the Year. Irving totaled 592 points and received 117 first-place votes from a panel of 120 journalists.

Minnesota’s Ricky Rubio finished second with 170 points, and Denver’s Kenneth Faried finished third with 129 points (one first-place vote). 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.

Entering his first NBA season, Irving was somewhat of an unknown having played only a handful of games at Duke due to injuries. However, Irving quickly put such doubts to rest, immediately displaying an ability to get into the paint and generate offense.

Among first-year players, Irving ranked first in scoring (18.5 ppg), field goal percentage (.469) and free throw percentage (.872), while placing second in assists (5.4 apg) and three-point field goal percentage (.399).

Among all players, Irving ranked tied for fourth in fourth-quarter scoring (6.4 ppg) while shooting .518 from the field, .410 from beyond the arc, and .868 from the charity stripe.

Irving joins Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson, Allen Iverson, and LeBron James as the only top overall picks to average at least 18 points and 5 assists. In addition, he is one of only six rookies in league history to average at least 18 points, 5 assists, and 1 steal while shooting at least .450 from the field, joining Johnson, Jordan, Alvan Adams, Grant Hill, and Tyreke Evans.

Irving was a three-time winner of the NBA’s Rookie of the Month Award and was named MVP of the Rising Stars Challenge at NBA All-Star 2012 by scoring 34 points, including going 8-for-8 from beyond the three-point line, and dishing a game-high nine assists.

Here are the Rookie of the Year voting results:

Kyrie Irving, Cleveland -- 592
Ricky Rubio, Minnesota -- 170
Kenneth Faried, Denver -- 129
Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio -- 47
Iman Shumpert, New York -- 33
Klay Thompson, Golden State -- 30
Isaiah Thomas, Sacramento -- 28
Brandon Knight, Detroit -- 21
Chandler Parsons, Houston -- 14
MarShon Brooks, New Jersey -- 4
Kemba Walker, Charlotte -- 3
Josh Selby, Memphis -- 1

Here is the list of all-time winners:

1952-53 - Don Meineke, Fort Wayne
1953-54 - Ray Felix, Baltimore
1954-55 - Bob Pettit, Milwaukee
1955-56 - Maurice Stokes, Rochester
1956-57 - Tom Heinsohn, Boston
1957-58 - Woody Sauldsberry, Philadelphia
1958-59 - Elgin Baylor, Minneapolis
1959-60 - Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia
1960-61 - Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati
1961-62 - Walt Bellamy, Chicago
1962-63 - Terry Dischinger, Chicago
1963-64 - Jerry Lucas, Cincinnati
1964-65 - Willis Reed, New York
1965-66 - Rick Barry, San Francisco
1966-67 - Dave Bing, Detroit
1967-68 - Earl Monroe, Baltimore
1968-69 - Wes Unseld, Baltimore
1969-70 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Milwaukee
1970-71 - Dave Cowens, Boston (tie); Geoff Petrie, Portland (tie)
1971-72 - Sidney Wicks, Portland
1972-73 - Bob McAdoo, Buffalo
1973-74 - Ernie DiGregorio, Buffalo
1974-75 - Keith Wilkes, Golden State
1975-76 - Alvan Adams, Phoenix
1976-77 - Adrian Dantley, Buffalo
1977-78 - Walter Davis, Phoenix
1978-79 - Phil Ford, Kansas City
1979-80 - Larry Bird, Boston
1980-81 - Darrell Griffith, Utah
1981-82 - Buck Williams, New Jersey
1982-83 - Terry Cummings, San Diego
1983-84 - Ralph Sampson, Houston
1984-85 - Michael Jordan, Chicago
1985-86 - Patrick Ewing, New York
1986-87 - Chuck Person, Indiana
1987-88 - Mark Jackson, New York
1988-89 - Mitch Richmond, Golden State
1989-90 - David Robinson, San Antonio
1990-91 - Derrick Coleman, New Jersey
1991-92 - Larry Johnson, Charlotte
1992-93 - Shaquille O'Neal, Orlando
1993-94 - Chris Webber, Golden State
1994-95 - Grant Hill, Detroit (tie); Jason Kidd, Dallas (tie)
1995-96 - Damon Stoudamire, Toronto
1996-97 - Allen Iverson, Philadelphia
1997-98 - Tim Duncan, San Antonio
1998-99 - Vince Carter, Toronto
1999-00 - Elton Brand, Chicago (tie); Steve Francis, Houston (tie)
2000-01 - Mike Miller, Orlando
2001-02 - Pau Gasol, Memphis
2002-03 – Amar’e Stoudemire, Phoenix
2003-04 - LeBron James, Cleveland
2004-05 - Emeka Okafor, Charlotte
2005-06 - Chris Paul, New Orleans/Okla. City
2006-07 - Brandon Roy, Portland
2007-08 - Kevin Durant, Seattle
2008-09 -Derrick Rose, Chicago
2009-10 –Tyreke Evans, Sacramento
2010-11 –Blake Griffin, Los Angeles Clippers
2011-12 –Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers

By Staff of The Daily Sports Herald and news services