Carter-Williams Named NBA Rookie of the Year

Kevin Aherne (@KAherne17)

Michael Carter-Williams, a graduate of St. Andrew's School in Barrington, RI, and guard for the Philadelphia 76ers is the recipient of the Eddie Gottlieb Trophy as the 2013-14 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year, the NBA announced Monday.

Carter-Williams, who became only the third rookie since 1950-51 to lead all rookies in scoring, rebounding and assists, received 104 of a possible 124 first-place votes from a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada, finishing with 569 points.

The Orlando Magic’s Victor Oladipo finished second with 364 points (16 first-place votes) and Trey Burke of the Utah Jazz finished third with 96 points (one first place vote). Players were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote.

Carter-Williams averaged 16.7 points, 6.3 assists and 6.2 rebounds, joining Oscar Robertson (1960-61) and Alvan Adams (1975-76) as the only players since 1950-51 to pace all rookies in those three categories. He also joined Robertson and Magic Johnson as the only rookies in NBA history to average at least 16.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists. Carter-Williams also led all rookies in steals (1.86 spg, sixth in NBA).

Selected by the 76ers with the 11th overall pick of the 2013 NBA Draft, Carter-Williams was named NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played Oct. 29-Nov. 3, joining Shaquille O’Neal as the only rookies in history to capture NBA Player of the Week honors to begin their careers. Carter-Williams went on to earn Kia NBA Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month honors in October/November, January, March and April. He tallied 17 double-doubles and two triple-doubles on the season, while scoring at least 20 points in 25 contests.

As part of its support of the Rookie of the Year Award, Kia Motors America (KMA) will donate an all-new 2015 Kia Sorento LX CUV to the Fibrolamellar Cancer Foundation (FCF) which is dedicated to funding research to find treatment options and a cure for fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma. Kia Motors will present a Sorento to the charity of choice of each of five 2013-14 year-end award winners as part of “The Kia NBA Performance Awards.” Following this season, Kia Motors will have donated a total of 31 new vehicles to charitable organizations since its support of the NBA’s prestigious year-end honors began in 2008.

The 2013-14 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year Award is part of a series of on-court performance awards called “The Kia NBA Performance Awards.” The series, currently in its seventh season, is part of a multi-year marketing partnership between KMA and the NBA, and includes five of the league’s most prestigious year-end honors: Most Valuable Player Award, Defensive Player of the Year, Sixth Man Award, Most Improved Player Award, and Rookie of the Year.  The series also includes the Kia NBA Eastern and Western Conference Rookies of the Month and the Kia NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month during the regular season.