Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving bags Rookie of the Year honour – NBA Update
Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers, the number 1 draft pick this season has been selected the worthy winner of the Rookie of the Year trophy. The announcement was made official on Tuesday after the results of the voting came
out.
Irving was very happy upon receiving the prestigious honour;
"It was a goal of mine," he said. "I knew as long as we won some games and beat some great team that it was going to come."
Kemba won the laurels amongst a draft class full of talented players which included the likes of his own team mate, Tristan Thompson, other promising talents like Kemba Walker, Klay Thompson, Isaiah Thomas, Derrick Williams, Kawhi
Leonard, Iman Shumpert, Kenneth Faried and the ever dazzling Ricky Rubio .
Out of a total 120 possible votes for first place, 117 of them were cast in Irving’s favour making him a clear winner with 592 points, way ahead of his nearest competitor, Ricky Rubio who finished with 170 points.
Throughout the year, Irving had shown signs of being mature beyond his years. Be it him carrying the Cavs on his back throughout the season or his clutch finishing, Irving has shown that it is not about the glamour or the big money
contracts, it about him being the best on the basketball court.
Irving during his acceptance speech credited his parents for raising him the way they did and being from a humble background was depicted by what he did next. He donated the auto-mobile given to him by KIA Motors for being the
top rookie to his old AAU Team, the New Jersey Roadrunners.
During the course of the season, Irving averaged 18.5 points to go along with 5.4 assists per game. To go along with the impressive scoring and playmaking, he also bagged the MVP honours in the Rising Star game during the All-Star
weekend for his impressive 8 of 8 shooting from beyond the arc.
By becoming the Rookie of the Year, Irving became only the second player from the Cavaliers to be given this honour, the first one being the mighty LeBron James.
With his first season capped off with the top rookie honour, Irving has an eye for the future and will look to return back even stronger. This humble attitude of his has earned him nothing but praise from his team mates and his
coach, Byron Scott.
“One of the easiest guys I've ever coached," Scott said. "Last year was a learning experience for him and us. I expect so much more from him next season and beyond."
The Cavs with their much young line up are looking to become a stronger team and with three picks in the top 34 of this year’s draft as well, they will be adding some new key figures to their lineup.
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