[Basel57]

Seattle SuperSonics guard Kevin Durant will be named NBA Rookie of the Year, the Seattle Times and The Associated Press reported.

Durant, who led all first-year players in scoring, assists and free-throw percentage, reportedly beat out Atlanta Hawks forward Al Horford to become the first Rookie of the Year in Seattle franchise history. The NBA is expected to officially announce the award on Thursday.

Durant averaged 20.3 points per game in 2007-08 -- the highest scoring average for a rookie since Carmelo Anthony averaged 21 points per game and LeBron James averaged 20.9 ppg in 2003-04. Only three of the past 10 rookies of the year -- Durant, James and Elton Brand -- have averaged at least 20 points in their first season.

Among qualifiers, Durant also was the first rookie to lead his team in scoring since the 2004-05 season, when both Charlotte's Emeka Okafor and Atlanta's Josh Childress led their teams in scoring.

Durant became the favorite to win the award when No. 1 draft pick Greg Oden was forced to miss the entire season following microfracture knee surgery.

Horford averaged 10.1 points and 9.7 rebounds, helping the Hawks back to the NBA playoffs for the first time in nine years.

Durant experienced the typical rookie struggles early on. He took rushed and challenged shots at times, dropping his shooting percentage.

But as the season progressed, Durant's confidence grew even as the team stumbled through the worst season in franchise history. Durant averaged 21.8 points and shot nearly 53 percent in March. He capped his rookie season by averaging 24.3 points in his final eight games. Durant scored the winning points in what could have been the Sonics' final home game in Seattle, a 99-95 win over Dallas, then followed up with a career-best 42 points in the Sonics season finale against Golden State.

All those numbers came in a season where the Sonics won just 20 games, often overshadowed by the off-court battles of where the team will play in the future.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3374806

Congrats to Durant.

[croco]

Congrats, well-deserved and it should be a clear-cut choice.

[Ruff Draft]

He was an absolute monster these past couple months. Great choice.

[RX]

Shoulda been Horford

[O2K]

Horford got robbed.

But no matter how good of a season he wouldve had, Durant still wouldve got it. Durant won this award even before the season began. Unfortunate.

[DaRizzle]

Good for him..lots of players can put up big numbers on a bad team. Im just saying it will be interesting to see how he produces when he is on a better team

[RX]

Horford avg's almost a double double (10.1/9.7) alongside Josh Smith with no plays run for him

Meanwhile, Durant gets the green light to jack up 20.3 PPG on 43% FG% and 28% 3PT% while being the focal point of his team

[SeaNet]

Congrats to KD. But if the Sonics move to OKC, he can shove that trophy right up his ***.

[croco]

Originally Posted by O2K

Horford got robbed.

But no matter how good of a season he wouldve had, Durant still wouldve got it. Durant won this award even before the season began. Unfortunate.

Team wins don't matter for this award, you can't punish a player for being drafted by a terrible team. The best players usually go to the teams with the worst records. Individually Durant has been better anyway, he was asked to carry the team with arguably the least talent in the league from Day 1, he has produced and gotten better over the course of the season.

One is drawing the attention of defenses every single night, the other is the fourth option, it's not a legit comparison. Horford has been very good as well, but to say that he got robbed is just flat out ridiculous because has been better without a doubt.

[Chan]

Originally Posted by SeaNet

Congrats to KD. But if the Sonics move to OKC, he can shove that trophy right up his ***.

Bring the hate. **** the Sonics. The sooner they leave, the sooner Seattle gets a new franchise.