Wiggins, LaVine win NBA rookie team honors

Andrew Wiggins was a unanimous pick for all-rookie team; Zach LaVine being named to the second team was a mild surprise.

May 18, 2015 at 7:43PM
Andrew Wiggins (22) and Zach LaVine.
Andrew Wiggins (22) and Zach LaVine. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

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.

about the writer

about the writer

Kent Youngblood

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Kent Youngblood has covered sports for the Minnesota Star Tribune for more than 20 years.

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