The Seattle Times is reporting that Kevin Durant will win Rookie of the Year.
Kevin Durant, who led all first-year players in scoring, assists and free-throw percentage, will be named the NBA’s rookie of the year and become the first Sonics player to win the award.
Two league sources confirmed Durant outdistanced second-place finisher Al Horford, an Atlanta forward. The sources spoke anonymously because the official announcement is scheduled for Thursday.
In my year-end awards column, I made the case for Al Horford, but predicted that the sportswriters would go with Durant due to his high scoring average.
ROY is a two-horse race between Kevin Durant and Al Horford. There’s no doubt in my mind that Durant is going to be a superstar, but Horford has the edge efficiency wise (16.5 to 15.2) and has done it in three fewer minutes a game. In the end, I think voters will gravitate towards Durant’s 20.1-point average (along with his unequaled potential), but Horford has a big edge in rebounds, FG% and PPS. Let’s not forget that the Hawks are playoff-bound while the Sonics have the second worst record in the league. There’s something to be said about the timing of Horford’s arrival in Atlanta and their sudden development into a playoff team, albeit a bad one.
I think Horford has the edge, but Durant will probably win it. Given the fact that KD has played his best ball in the second half of the season despite having virtually no help, it won’t be a huge travesty if he goes home with the trophy.
Horford deserves the award, but Durant won it. Life goes on.
I’m now four-for-four in my predictions, but the MVP is the big one, and I have the feeling I backed the wrong horse.
