NEW YORK (NBA) - Life gets better and better for New Orleans Hornets guard Chris Paul.
Named in Team USA's 23-man preliminary squad for the FIBA World Championship in Japan, Paul has now been voted NBA Rookie of the Year. The league announced on Wednesday that Paul was the runaway winner of the award, garnering 124 out of 125 first-place votes and 623 points in voting among a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada.
It was the largest percent of votes since David Robinson received 100% of first-place votes in 1989-90. Utah Jazz guard Deron Williams received the other first-place vote.
Paul, the fourth pick in the 2005 NBA Draft out of Wake Forest, led all rookies by averaging 16.1 points, 7.8 assists, and 2.24 steals. He posted 21 double-doubles to lead the Hornets to a 20-win improvement over last season, the biggest turnaround in the NBA this season.
He led the league in total steals with 175, becoming only the second rookie in NBA history to accomplish that feat (Brevin Knight, 1997-98).
"My rookie season was truly a fantastic experience from start to finish, and my team-mates and I look forward to building on the success we enjoyed this year," Paul said.
Paul won the Western Conference Rookie of the Month award every month of the 2005-06 season, joining Robinson, Tim Duncan, Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James as the only players in league history to win the award every month.
Toronto Raptors forward Charlie Villanueva finished a distance second in the voting with 248 points, followed by center Andrew Bogut of the Milwaukee Bucks (98), Charlotte Bobcats guard Raymond Felton (79), New York Knicks forward Channing Frye (41) and Williams (31).
PA Sport