Charlotte’s Lamelo Ball wins Kia NBA Rookie of the Year

Admin l Thursday, June 17, 2021

 

NEW YORK, United States of America –  Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball is the recipient of the Eddie Gottlieb Trophy as the 2020-21 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year, the NBA (www.NBA.com) announced today.  He is the third player to win the annual award with Charlotte, joining Larry Johnson (1991-92) and Emeka Okafor (2004-05).

Ball received 84 first-place votes and earned 465 total points from a global panel of 99 sportswriters and broadcasters. Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards received the other 15 first-place votes and finished in second place with 309 points. Sacramento Kings guard Tyrese Haliburton finished in third place with 114 points. 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.

Ball averaged 15.7 points, 6.1 assists, 5.9 rebounds and 1.59 steals in 28.8 minutes in 51 games (31 starts), leading all rookies in assists and steals and ranking second in points and rebounds.  He is the seventh rookie to average at least 15.0 points, 6.0 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 1.50 steals in a season since steals became an official statistic in the 1973-74 season, joining Magic Johnson (1979-80), Penny Hardaway (1993-94), Steve Francis (1999-00), Chris Paul (2005-06), Michael Carter-Williams (2013-14) and Ben Simmons (2017-18).  Ball was one of two NBA players to reach all four of those averages this season, along with Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler.

On Jan. 9, Ball recorded 22 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists against the Atlanta Hawks at 19 years, 140 days old, becoming the youngest player in NBA history to have a triple-double.  In other standout performances, Ball posted a career-high 34 points, eight assists and zero turnovers against the Utah Jazz on Feb. 5 in his third career start, and he had 30 points, eight assists, six rebounds and four steals against the Portland Trail Blazers on March 1.  Despite missing 21 games with a wrist injury, Ball finished with the second-most assists (313) and third-most three-pointers made (92) by a rookie in Hornets history.

Ball was selected as the Kia NBA Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month in each of the first three months of the season (December/January, February and March).  He was also named to the U.S. Team for the 2021 NBA Rising Stars rosters.

Charlotte selected Ball with the third overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.  Ball played for the Illawara Hawks of Australia’s National Basketball League during the 2019-20 season, where he was named the NBL Rookie of the Year.

The Kia NBA Rookie of the Year trophy is named in honor of Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Eddie Gottlieb, one of the NBA’s founders.  Gottlieb coached the Philadelphia Warriors to the 1946-47 championship in the league’s first season.

The voting results for the 2020-21 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year Award are below.  The balloting was tabulated by the independent accounting firm Ernst & Young LLP.  Complete ballots for each voter will be posted at PR.NBA.com after the announcement of all end-of-season awards.

Below is the all-time list of recipients of the Kia NBA Rookie of the Year Award.

KIA NBA ROOKIE OF THE YEAR AWARD 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 – Jamaal 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/Oklahoma 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, LA Clippers

2011-12 – Kyrie Irving, Cleveland

2012-13 – Damian Lillard, Portland

2013-14 – Michael Carter-Williams, Philadelphia

2014-15 – Andrew Wiggins, Minnesota

2015-16 – Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota

2016-17 – Malcolm Brogdon, Milwaukee

2017-18 – Ben Simmons, Philadelphia

2018-19 – Luka Dončić, Dallas

2019-20 – Ja Morant, Memphis

2020-21 – LaMelo Ball, Charlotte