Wolves' Wiggins only 2nd non-American to win Rookie of the Year
Of the NBA's season-ending awards, Rookie of the Year is probably this year's least contentious.
Minnesota Timberwolves swingman Andrew Wiggins was named the league's top freshman, garnering 110 of 130 first-place votes, 96 more than the runner-up, Nikola Mirotic of the Chicago Bulls.
Philadelphia 76ers big man Nerlens Noel finished third in voting.
| Player | 1st Place Votes | 2nd Place Votes | 3rd Place Votes | Total Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Wiggins | 110 | 17 | 3 | 604 |
| Nikola Mirotic | 14 | 81 | 22 | 335 |
| Nerlens Noel | 3 | 22 | 60 | 141 |
| Elfrid Payton | 3 | 8 | 40 | 79 |
| Marcus Smart | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| Jusuf Nurkic | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Jordan Clarkson | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
And there he is. Andrew Wiggins looking dapper as ever to accept his #ROY honor. #WigginsROY pic.twitter.com/qRG7th46HY
— MN Timberwolves (@MNTimberwolves) April 30, 2015
While his path to the award was assisted by season-ending injuries to Jabari Parker and former Kansas teammate Joel Embiid, Wiggins demonstrated that he is a superstar in the making.
He led all rookies in scoring at 16.9 points per game, while showing off sporadic but brilliant defensive skills – like this display on James Harden.
Wiggins also played a Timberwolves rookie record 2,969 minutes, second in the NBA only to Harden, and captured four of the six Western Conference Rookie of the Month nods this season.
The 20-year-old Toronto native becomes the first Canadian to win NBA Rookie of the Year and only the second non-American player to take the honor in the award's 62-year history.
Pau Gasol was the first, claiming the trophy while playing for the Memphis Grizzlies in 2002.
Wiggins is also the first Canuck to pick up any NBA award hardware since Steve Nash won his second of back-to-back MVPs in 2006.
"I am honored and humbled to be recognized by the media for this award," Wiggins said in a release. "I'd like to thank our coaches and my teammates for all they have done to help me and support me this season. I'm looking forward to taking my game to an even higher level next year and helping our team make a significant improvement."