Minnesota Timberwolves’ Andrew Wiggins holds his trophy at a news conference after he was named NBA basketball Rookie of the Year, Thursday, April 30, 2015, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)
MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota Timberwolves guard Andrew Wiggins has been named the NBA rookie of the year.
The NBA made the announcement on Thursday (US time).
After coming to the Timberwolves in the trade that sent Kevin Love to Cleveland, Wiggins averaged 16.9 points and 4.6 rebounds while playing all 82 games in his first season.
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Wiggins was drafted No. 1 overall by the Cavaliers last summer and has been a heavily hyped prospect since he was a teenager growing up in Toronto. He lived up to that in his first year in the NBA, emerging as the new centerpiece of a franchise that has not made the playoffs for 11 straight years.
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Wiggins received 110 first-place votes and 604 total points in the voting. Chicago’s Nikola Mirotic finished second, and Philadelphia’s Nerlens Noel was third.