clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Rui Hachimura gets no votes for NBA Rookie of the Year

The Washington Wizards forward averaged 13.5 points and 6.1 rebounds per game in the 2019-20 NBA season.

By Albert Lee
Milwaukee Bucks v Washington Wizards
Rui Hachimura had a good rookie season for the Washington Wizards. He just didn’t have a good enough season to win the individual awards.
Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images

On Thursday, the NBA announced that Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant won the 2019-20 NBA Rookie of the Year Award. The result wasn’t in doubt because Morant averaged 17.8 points, 3.9 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game in his rookie season, leading Memphis to a surprising ninth place finish in the Western Conference. And yes, though Zion Williamson was (and still is) expected to have a more superstar-like career, Williamson missed most of the first half of the season. Morant didn’t.

Miami Heat guard Kendrick Nunn was second in Rookie of the Year voting, where he averaged 15.3 points and 3.3 assists per game. The aforementioned Williamson was third.

But I digress.

I was hoping that Washington Wizards forward Rui Hachimura would get a third place vote or two. But I was surprised to see that he received no votes whatsoever. Given that he averaged 13.5 points and 6.1 rebounds this past season, I thought he did rather well, all things considered. However, he was never the Wizards’ go-to option at any point this past season, especially during the season restart in Orlando when Bradley Beal sat out the final games to rehab a shoulder injury.

While it is mildly disappointing to see that Hachimura didn’t get a vote for Rookie of the Year, there’s a good chance that the will get on the All-Rookie Team when it is announced in the near future.