Suns center Deandre Ayton named finalist for Rookie of the Year
May 17, 2019, 5:13 PM | Updated: 9:34 pm
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton was named a finalist for the NBA’s 2018-19 Rookie of the Year Friday, the NBA announced.
Ayton, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, was the only rookie to average a double-double. Ayton’s 10.3 rebounds per game was the top mark among rookies and his 16.3 points per game ranked fourth behind Luka Doncic, Trae Young and Collin Sexton.
The 20-year-old’s rookie season was the most efficient historically given his production levels. Ayton is one of 35 rookies to average at least 16 points and 10 rebounds a game and his 60.8 TS% is the best of them all. Ayton is the the third rookie this decade to average a double-double, joining Blake Griffin and Karl-Anthony Towns.
That would lead you to believe Ayton is the favorite for the award, but he faces stiff competition this year from the two other finalists Doncic and Young.
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Doncic’s line of 21.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game has only been done once in league history by a rookie and that’s all the way back to Oscar Robertson in 1961. As a multi-faceted playmaker and scorer, Doncic was efficient as well, posting a 54.5 TS%. Among the 16 rookies in league history to average at least 20 points and four assists a game, that true shooting percentage ranks fourth behind Robertson, Michael Jordan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Young rode a late-season surge where he put up All-Star numbers after the All-Star break. He became the 14th rookie in NBA history to average at least eight assists a game, and only Robertson (30.5) scored more per game than Young (19.1) among that group. To repeat the theme of efficient rookies, Young’s 53.9 TS% is third among those 14 players.
The winner will be revealed at the 2019 NBA Awards, which take place on June 24.
