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MIAMI: Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant was a big winner of the NBA Rookie of the Year award announced Thursday, receiving 99 out of 100 possible votes for first place.
Morant became the second club player to receive the award, following in the footsteps of Spaniard Pau Gasol, who won it in 2002.
New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson, the top overall pick in last year’s NBA draft, got the only other vote for first place, the league said in results released Thursday.
In a survey of 100 sports journalists and broadcasters from around the world, Morant scored 498 points under the system that offered five points for first place, three for second and one for third place.
Miami Heat guard Kendrick Nunn finished second with 204 points and Williamson finished third with 140 points.
Voting was conducted based on regular season games played through March 11, when the season was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The seeded games, which were played from July 30 to August 14 as part of the restart of the season, did not count for voting.
But Morant, who was second overall in the 2019 draft, helped the Grizzlies compete for a playoff spot in the NBA’s quarantine bubble in Orlando, Florida.
He scored a career-high 35 points when the Grizzlies fell to the Portland Trail Blazers in an inning game for the eighth and final postseason spot in the Western Conference, ending his stellar rookie season.
From the start of the season through March 11, Morant led all qualified NBA rookies in scoring with 16.6 points per game and assists with 6.9 per game.
He shot 49.1% from the field in 59 games. During that period, Morant was one of three NBA players to averaging at least 17.0 points and 6.0 assists and shooting 49.0 percent or more from the field, joining 2020 NBA All-Stars LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers. and Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets. .
His 11 double-doubles in that span were a rookie record, and he produced the only triple-double by a rookie when he finished with 27 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists against the Washington Wizards on February 9.
He had at least 20 points and 10 assists in seven games, including a 27-point, 14-assist performance against the Los Angeles Lakers on February 29.
Morant showed enough poise for a rookie, finishing ninth in the NBA in scoring in the fourth quarter.
