Timberwolves’ Karl-Anthony Towns and Knicks’ Kristaps Porzingis headline 2015-16 NBA All-Rookie Team
NEW YORK – Kia NBA Rookie of the Year Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Kristaps Porzingis of the New York Knicks have been unanimously selected to the 2015-16 NBA All-Rookie First Team, the NBA announced today. Both players received all 130 First Team votes from a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters in the United States and Canada.
Joining Towns and Porzingis on the First Team are the Phoenix Suns’ Devin Booker (103 First Team votes, 231 points), the Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic (73 First Team votes, 186 points) and the Philadelphia 76ers’ Jahlil Okafor (71 First Team votes, 186 points).
The NBA All-Rookie Second Team consists of the Miami Heat’s Justise Winslow (151 points, 44 First Team votes), the Los Angeles Lakers’ D’Angelo Russell (142 points, 25 First Team votes), the Nuggets’ Emmanuel Mudiay (140 points, 35 First Team votes), the Indiana Pacers’ Myles Turner (139 points, 28 First Team votes) and the Sacramento Kings’ Willie Cauley-Stein (50 points, two First Team votes).
The voting panel was asked to select five players for the First Team and five players for the Second Team at any position. Two points were awarded for First Team votes and one point for Second Team votes.
Towns, the No. 1 overall pick of NBA Draft 2015 presented by State Farm, led all rookies in scoring (18.3 ppg) and rebounding (10.5 rpg, eighth in the NBA) and ranked second in blocks (1.68 bpg, 10th in the NBA) – making him the league’s only player to reach those averages in the three categories. The unanimous Kia NBA Rookie of the Year also ranked third in the league in double-doubles (51) and eighth in field goal percentage (54.2). Towns, one of six NBA players to start all 82 games, won all six Kia NBA Western Conference Rookie of the Month awards.
Porzingis was third among rookies in scoring (14.3 ppg), second in rebounding (7.3 rpg) and first in blocks (1.86 bpg). A three-time Kia NBA Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month winner, Porzingis became the first Knicks rookie to score at least 1,000 points in a season since Mark Jackson in 1987-88.
Booker finished fourth among first-year players in scoring (13.8 ppg), second in three-pointers made (99) and first in free throw percentage (84.0). Five of the 19-year-old guard’s rookie-high six 30-point games came after the All-Star break, when he averaged 19.2 points, 4.1 assists and 3.0 rebounds in 28 games.
Jokic, the 41st pick in NBA Draft 2014 presented by State Farm, made his NBA debut this season and averaged 10.0 points (eighth among rookies), 7.0 rebounds (tied for third), 2.4 assists (seventh) and 0.99 steals (fourth) while shooting 51.2 percent from the field (fourth).
The NBA All-Rookie First Team is rounded out by Okafor, who ranked second among first-year players in scoring (17.7 ppg), tied for third in rebounding (7.0 rpg) and fourth in blocks (1.15 bpg).
For the third year in a row, complete media voting results for each NBA annual award will be posted on NBA.com/official after the announcement of each winner. Click here for those results.
Attached are the balloting results for the 2015-16 NBA All-Rookie Team. The balloting was tabulated by the independent accounting firm of Ernst & Young LLP.
2015-16 NBA ALL-ROOKIE FIRST TEAM
Player
Team
First
Second
Total
Karl-Anthony Towns
Minnesota Timberwolves
130
—
260
Kristaps Porzingis
New York Knicks
130
—
260
Devin Booker
Phoenix Suns
103
25
231
Nikola Jokic
Denver Nuggets
73
40
186
Jahlil Okafor
Philadelphia 76ers
71
44
186
2015-16 NBA ALL-ROOKIE SECOND TEAM
Player
Team
First
Second
Total
Justise Winslow
Miami Heat
44
63
151
D’Angelo Russell
Los Angeles Lakers
25
92
142
Emmanuel Mudiay
Denver Nuggets
35
70
140
Myles Turner
Indiana Pacers
28
83
139
Willie Cauley-Stein
Sacramento Kings
2
46
50
Other players receiving votes, with point totals (first-place votes in parentheses): Frank Kaminsky, Charlotte, 47 (2); Josh Richardson, Miami, 47 (4); Stanley Johnson, Detroit, 42 (1); Trey Lyles, Utah, 26; Bobby Portis, Chicago, 13; T.J. McConnell, Philadelphia, 7 (2); Mario Hezonja, Orlando, 4; Larry Nance Jr., Los Angeles Lakers, 3; Norman Powell, Toronto, 3; Justin Anderson, Dallas, 2; Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Brooklyn, 2; Boban Marjanovic, San Antonio, 2; Jonathon Simmons, San Antonio, 2; Jerian Grant, New York, 1; Marcelo Huertas, Los Angeles Lakers, 1; Raul Neto, Utah, 1; Cameron Payne, Oklahoma City, 1; Joe Young, Indiana, 1.
