New York, NY – Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving and Minnesota Timberwolves guard Ricky Rubio were named the top rookies in the Eastern and Western Conference, respectively, for games played from the season's December 25 start through the end of January.
Irving paced all rookies by averaging 18.1 points per game. He ranked second among NBA freshmen in assists with a 4.9 average and field-goal percentage at 51.1 percent.
Irving also ranked third among rookies by connecting on 41.1 percent of his tries from beyond the arc.
Rubio's 8.9 assists per game average led all rookies, and his 2.24 steals per game also ranked tops among first-year players.
Other nominees for the rookie award were Detroit's Brandon Knight, Houston's Chandler Parsons, Miami's Norris Cole, New Jersey's MarShon Brooks and Phoenix's Markieff Morris.