Memphis Grizzlies‘ point guard Ja Morant was named the 2019-20 NBA Rookie of the Year, the league announced Thursday afternoon. Morant earned 99 first-place votes out of 100, adding up to 498 total points.
Memphis Grizzlies’ Ja Morant Wins 2019-20 NBA Rookie of the Year Award
With Morant’s victory, he becomes only the second player in Grizzlies’ history to win the Rookie of the Year Award. He joins Pau Gasol, who won the award during the 2001-02 season.
All season awards were determined by regular season play prior to the NBA’s restart. The Murray State product finished well above the follow-up candidate, Miami Heat guard Kendrick Nunn. Nunn finished in second with 204 points. New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson earned one first place vote and finished in third place with 140 points.
Prior to the NBA bubble, Morant lead all NBA rookies in scoring and assists. In 59 games, he averaged 17.6 points and 6.9 assists per game, while shooting 49.1 percent from the field. According to nba.com, the point guard was also one of three NBA players to average at least 17.0 points and 6.0 assists and shoot 49 percent from the field. The other two players? Los Angeles Lakers‘ forward LeBron James and Denver Nuggets‘ center Nikola Jokić.
Morant was the only rookie to record a triple-double, when he finished with 27 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in a victory against the Washington Wizards on Feb. 9. He also excelled in late games, as he ranked sixth in the NBA in fourth-quarter scoring average (7.3 points per game). Morant had the highest fourth-quarter field goal percentage at 55.9 percent.
His leadership helped the Grizzlies begin the NBA restart in eighth place, although they fell to ninth after a loss against the Portland Trailblazers, awarding them the final postseason spot.
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