Karl-Anthony Towns, who set Minnesota Timberwolves rookie records in scoring, rebounding, blocked shots and field goal percentage this season, has unanimously won the 2015-16 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year Award, the NBA officially announced Monday.
He received all 130 first-place votes (650 points), becoming just the fifth rookie to do so since 1984, joining Ralph Sampson (1983-84), David Robinson (1989-90), Blake Griffin (2010-11) and Damian Lillard (2012-13).
New York Knicks power forward Kristaps Porzingis finished second with 363 points, and Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic was third with 59 points. Rounding out the top five was Phoenix Suns' Devin Booker (49) and Philadelphia 76ers' Jahlil Okafor (34)
Towns — the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 draft after spending his lone college season with the Kentucky Wildcats — averaged 18.3 points, 10.5 rebounds and 1.6 blocks on 54.2% shooting, all top 10 numbers amongst the league's centers. He also finished the season with 51 double-doubles, trailing only Andre Drummond and Russell Westbrook.
The 20-year-old becomes the second consecutive Timberwolves player to earn the award, following in the footsteps of his teammate Andrew Wiggins, the 2014-15 winner. With Towns and Wiggins leading the charge, in addition to 21-year-old two-time NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion Zach LaVine and 25-year-old point guard Ricky Rubio, the Timberwolves — who recently named Tom Thibodeau as their head coach — have a solid core of young talent with a bright future.
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