6:55pm: Ball’s victory has been confirmed by the NBA in a press release. He received 84 of 99 first-place votes, with the others going to Edwards.
Overall, Ball had 465 points, while Edwards was second with 309. Haliburton was third with 114 points. The Pistons’ Saddiq Bey was the only other player to receive votes, garnering three third-place selections.
1:53pm: Hornets guard LaMelo Ball has won the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award for the 2020/21 season, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). According to Wojnarowski, an official announcement from the league is expected soon.
Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards and Kings guard Tyrese Haliburton were the other finalists for the award. I’d expect Edwards to finish second in the voting, with Haliburton coming in third, but we’ll have to wait for the official breakdown from the NBA.
The third overall pick in the 2020 draft, Ball had a breakthrough rookie year in Charlotte, averaging 15.7 points, 6.1 assists, and 5.9 rebounds per games in 51 contests (28.8 MPG). There were questions about the 19-year-old’s jump shot entering his first professional season, but Ball put up a respectable shooting line of .436/.352/.758, emerging as the Hornets’ starting point guard despite the presence of veterans Terry Rozier and Devonte’ Graham.
A fractured right wrist sidelined Ball for over a month in March and April, but he returned to the court down the stretch to help the Hornets clinch a spot in the play-in tournament. The club was bounced in the first game by Indiana, but Ball’s performance in 2020/21 bodes well for the long-term future in Charlotte.
Anthony Edwards 72 games
19,5,3
42%
33%
78%
Total votes 99
Ball 84
Edwards 15
Edwards deserved it more!
False, the right player won, don’t be a homer, be realistic and objective
Right player won. If LaMelo’s last name was Smith, more would agree too
Edwards is ROY , not even close. Ball showed up better than I expected. Sooner too.
What about IQ he did a great job. No one predicted his contributions.
I did. Go back to the draft results thread. I said Knicks fans will love this guy.
Of course I also thought Deni Avdija would be the star of this rookie class, so maybe I’m not as prescient as I believe.
LeMelo should be the unanimous winner. That was probably a lock before the injury, and should still happen. I’d put Haliburton 2nd. Both had complete seasons from beginning to end.
Edwards is a special talent, and could easily end up being the best player out of this draft. But the ROY award isn’t about talent or what he might be, it’s about what he was. He shouldn’t get a single first place vote. Mid-year people were saying he was a complete bust. That was laughable, but giving him ROY after going from there to piling up top line numbers and highlights, without W/L impact, is equally laughable. Zion had a better case last year (and he had none as well), because at least he was injured the first half of the year. Edwards didn’t play well.
Clearly you didn’t watch the Wolves second half of the season, because Edwards was arguably the second biggest reason they went 16-20 (first biggest being Finch). He actually directly contributed to wins, especially after the break.
After the break (in addition to having a real HC get his bearings), KAT and DiLo got healthy and in sync as well. I watched only a handful of Wolves games. If you’re a Wolves fan, and watched a good deal of their games, then I have to respect what you’re saying. But, on the metrics, Edwards’ contributions to wins was minimal. True with many rookies, but not LaMelo. Edwards’ overall, win shares in both box and real, were less than half of LaMelo’s, and he played in more games. I like Edwards, but there’s no point in having any “of the year” award if production during that year is going to be ignored in favor of who people believe is the better prospect. The latter was already decided on draft night.
Edwards plays 20 more games and scored nearly 600 more points this year. So whose yearly production was ignored?
This feels like something we’ll all question in 3 or 4 years. Edwards is a legit superstar – Ball seems like he has a much lower ceiling.
You’re right on with that comment. This will be laughable in 3 years
Not as laughable as MCW
Embiid was hurt, Giannis didn’t take off for 3-4 years later and the best of the rest was Oladipo before his breakout season. MCW was still the best rookie that year. Although it was probably due to Philly having nothing else on the roster so somebody had to score.
Why would you question an award based on 2021’s play in 2024?
No brainer here
This seems like a joke to me. Ball was much better than I expected right out of the gate, but he only played 70% of the season. Edwards is the ROY.
Melo may have only played 70 percent of the season, but Edwards played like crap for 50 percent of the season.
That’s a valid point. Didn’t exactly play like crap, but certainly didn’t play at his second-half level for a whole season. I have to look at the numbers, but I think he was largely underutilized under Saunders. But your point remains valid, regardless.
Edwards is not. Depending on a player to miss time to get an award isn’t a true winner! Did Edwards help to impact winning on the wolves???
Apparently durability means jack.
Well deserved. You win the award based on play and impact on the team, not depending upon a peer getting hurt to be handed the award!
Not a big awards guy, coulda gone any way and cared less-
Just glad LaMelo’s made such a smooth transition, such a fun player to watch. Skies the limit with this kid, I really really wanna see him get paired with an athletic rangy center this offseason to run the PnR and open up the whole court for others …Myles Turner #1 target
But his father!