Tag: isaac okoro

Official 2020-21 NBA All-Rookie teams announced

Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball and Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards have been unanimously selected to the 2020-21 NBA All-Rookie First Team, the NBA announced today. Ball, the 2020-21 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year, and Edwards received NBA All-Rookie First Team votes on all 99 ballots from a global panel of sportswriters and broadcasters.

Joining Ball and Edwards (198 total points each) on the 2020-21 NBA All-Rookie First Team are Sacramento Kings guard Tyrese Haliburton (197 points; 98 First Team votes), Detroit Pistons forward Saddiq Bey (162 points; 63 First Team votes) and Houston Rockets forward Jae’Sean Tate (154 points; 57 First Team votes).

Ball led first-year NBA players in assists (6.1 apg) and steals (1.59 spg) and ranked second in scoring (15.7 ppg) and rebounding (5.9 rpg). He won the first three Kia NBA Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month awards. Edwards, the first overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, averaged a rookie-high 19.3 points per game. He was named the Kia NBA Western Conference Rookie of the Month in each of the final three months of the season.

Haliburton, who won the first two Kia NBA Western Conference Rookie of the Month awards, ranked third among rookies in scoring (13.0 ppg) and second in assists (5.3 apg). Bey, the 19th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, made a rookie-leading 175 three-pointers and was named the NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week for Week 8. Tate, who was not selected in the 2018 NBA Draft, averaged 11.3 points and 5.3 rebounds with the Rockets after playing last season for the Sydney Kings in Australia’s National Basketball League.

The 2020-21 NBA All-Rookie Second Team consists of New York Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley (148 points), Memphis Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane (88), Pistons center Isaiah Stewart (71), Cleveland Cavaliers guard-forward Isaac Okoro (53) and Chicago Bulls forward Patrick Williams (50).

The media voting panel selected five players for the NBA All-Rookie First Team and five players for the NBA All-Rookie Second Team at any position. Players received two points for each First Team vote and one point for each Second Team vote.

Rookie Isaac Okoro hits preseason game-winner for Cavs

NBA preseason began Friday. On Saturday, the Cleveland Cavaliers won in a really fun way, with a rookie hitting a game-winner. Via the News Herald:

It was the preseason opener of their 51st season, but for the 2020-21 Cavaliers, their game against the Pacers played Dec. 12 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse was like a playoff game, or at least the first game in franchise history.

The Cavaliers are truly in a new beginning under Coach J.B. Bickerstaff, and it could not have ended better. Rookie Isaac Okoro made a layup, was fouled with 0.3 seconds to play and then made the free throw to win a 107-104 thriller.

Unfortunately, no fans were there to witness it. They are banned from preseason games because of the novel coronavirus, which means the FieldHouse will also be fanless Dec. 14 when the Cavs host the Pacers in their second of four preseason games. State and local officials have set the maximum number of fans at 300 for regular-season games.

Okoro finished with 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting.

The Cavs will face the Pacers again tonight, then head to New York for two preseason bouts with the Knicks.

Cavaliers sign Isaac Okoro to rookie contract

The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed their 2020 NBA Draft pick, guard/forward Isaac Okoro (oh-CORE-oh), General Manager Koby Altman announced today from Cleveland Clinic Courts.

Okoro (6-6, 225) was selected by the Cavaliers with the fifth overall pick in Wednesday’s draft. In his lone collegiate season at Auburn in 2019-20, Okoro played in 28 games (all starts), averaging 12.8 points on .514 shooting, 4.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 31.5 minutes per game. He was named to the 2019-20 All-SEC Second Team, All-Freshman Team and All-Defensive Team, becoming just the sixth player in SEC history to be named to an All-Conference Team, All-Defensive Team and All-Freshman Team in the same season, joining Kentucky’s Anthony Davis (2011-12), Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (2011-12) and Nerlens Noel (2012-13), LSU’s Jordan Mickey (2013-14) and Texas A&M’s Robert Williams (2016-17). Okoro is Auburn’s highest draft pick since Chris Morris was selected with the fourth overall pick in the 1988 NBA Draft.

Okoro finished the 2019-20 season ranked 10th among all NCAA Division I freshmen in field goal percentage (.514) and was named to the Auburn Athletic Director’s Honor Roll after maintaining at least a 3.5 GPA in the fall. He became just the fourth Auburn player to ever earn SEC Freshman of the Week twice in a season (Nov. 18 and Dec. 9) and was the second Auburn freshman since 1990 to score in double figures in each of his first six NCAA games. Okoro won a gold medal with USA Basketball at the 2018 FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup. He attended McEachern High School in Powder Springs, Georgia, where he averaged 19.7 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.7 steals as a senior in 2018-19 and led the team to a state championship.

Cavs select Isaac Okoro with No. 5 pick in 2020 NBA draft

The Cleveland Cavaliers have selected guard/forward Isaac Okoro (oh-CORE-oh) from Auburn University with the fifth overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.

In his lone collegiate season at Auburn in 2019-20, Okoro (6-6, 225) played in 28 games (all starts), averaging 12.8 points on .514 shooting, 4.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 31.5 minutes per game. He was named to the 2019-20 All-SEC Second Team, All-Freshman Team and All-Defensive Team, becoming just the sixth player in SEC history to be named to an All-Conference Team, All-Defensive Team and All-Freshman Team in the same season, joining Kentucky’s Anthony Davis (2011-12), Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (2011-12) and Nerlens Noel (2012-13), LSU’s Jordan Mickey (2013-14) and Texas A&M’s Robert Williams (2016-17). Okoro is Auburn’s highest draft pick since Chris Morris was selected with the fourth overall pick in the 1988 NBA Draft.

Okoro finished the 2019-20 season ranked 10th among all NCAA Division I freshmen in field goal percentage (.514) and was named to the Auburn Athletic Director’s Honor Roll after maintaining at least a 3.5 GPA in the fall. He became just the fourth Auburn player to ever earn SEC Freshman of the Week twice in a season (Nov. 18 and Dec. 9) and was the second Auburn freshman since 1990 to score in double figures in each of his first six NCAA games. Okoro won a gold medal with USA Basketball at the 2018 FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup. He attended McEachern High School in Powder Springs, Georgia, where he averaged 19.7 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.7 steals as a senior in 2018-19 and led the team to a state championship.