The first question – Did the NBA forget about Rookie of the Year? – was answered yesterday. No.
The second question – did Karl-Anthony Towns win unanimously? – was answered today. Yes.
Towns took all 130 first-place votes to become the sixth player to win a major NBA award unanimously, joining Rookies of the Year Damian Lillard (2013), Blake Griffin (2011), David Robinson (1990) and Ralph Sampson (1984) and 2016 MVP Stephen Curry.
Here’s the full voting with player, team (first-place votes, second-place votes, third-place votes, points):
- Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota (130-0-0-650)
- Kristaps Porzingis, New York (0-117-12-363)
- Nikola Jokic, Denver (0-7-38-59)
- Devin Booker, Phoenix (0-3-40-49)
- Jahlil Okafor, Philadelphia (0-3-25-34)
- Justise Winslow, Miami (0-0-7-7)
- Emmanuel Mudiay, Denver (0-0-4-4)
- Myles Turner, Indiana (0-0-3-3)
- D’Angelo Russell, L.A. Lakers (0-0-1-1)
Notes:
- The Timberwolves – whose Andrew Wiggins won last season – are the fifth team with back-to-back Rookies of the Year. The Buffalo Braves had Bob McAdoo and Ernie DiGregorio in 1973 and 1974. The Portland Trail Blazers had Geoff Petrie and Sidney Wicks in 1971 and 1972. The Baltimore Bullets had Earl Monroe and Wes Unseld in 1968 and 1969. And the Chicago Packers/Zephyrs had Walt Bellamy and Terry Dischinger in 1962 and 1963.
- Porzingis cleaned up on second-place votes, taking 117 of 130. I would’ve picked Jokic, who finished third, but Porzingis is a fine – and very predictable – second-place finisher.
- Only one voter, Tim Kempton of KTAR Radio, left Porzingis off his ballot. Kempton ranked Jokic second and Booker third.
- Jokic – the No. 41 pick in the 2014 draft – was the only vote-getter not chosen in the 2015 lottery.