Monday, December 01, 2008

Tuesday, May 13, 2008 - 22:00

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Top newcomer Durant heads NBA All-Rookie squad

National Basketball Association Rookie of the Year Kevin Durant, a forward for the Seattle SuperSonics, was among the standouts named on Tuesday to the NBA All-Rookie Team.

Durant led all NBA newcomers this season with 20.3 points a game and also averaged 4.4 rebounds a game to earn a nod in voting done by the league's 30 coaches, none of whom could cast a ballot for their own players.

The 19-year-old playmaker was the lone bright spot in a 20-62 season, the worst in the team's 41-year history and possibly its last in Seattle as owners look to move to Oklahoma City provided a judge rules they can escape a lease.

Joining Durant in the All-Rookie lineup was teammate Jeff Green, Atlanta center Al Horford, Los Angeles Clippers forward Al Thornton and Houston's Luis Scola, a 28-year-old forward from Argentina.

Horford was the only unanimous selection to the honor lineup by all coaching rivals. He averaged 10.1 points and 9.7 rebounds a game in helping the Hawks reach the playoffs for the first time since 1999.

Durant had 28 first-team votes to 26 for Scola, 20 for Thornton and 15 for Green.

Scola averaged 10.3 points and 6.4 rebounds for the Rockets while Thornton was second among rookies in scoring at 12.7 points a game. Green averaged 10.5 points and 4.7 rebounds.

The All-Rookie Second Team included Toronto's Jamario Moon, Houston's Carl Landry, Detroit's Rodney Stuckey, Philadelphia's Thaddeus Young and Spanish guard Juan Carlos Navarro of Memphis.

Landry edged Frenchman Joakim Noah of the Chicago Bulls for the final spot on the second team. Each had one first-place vote but Landry had 16 second-team nods to 15 for Noah, who settled for 11th in the overall vote.

China's Yi Jianlian of the Milwaukee Bucks was 12th overall in the voting with 13 points.

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