InsideHoops.com editor Jeff Lenchiner presents his NBA Rookie of the Year watch. NBA rookies are first-year players. The pre-season favorite, #1 pick Blake Griffin (Los Angeles Clippers) was injured in preseason and has not yet played in the 2009-10 regular season.

The InsideHoops.com NBA Rookie Watch has been running for almost 10 years now and provides an expert view on the true candidates for NBA Rookie of the Year. Updated every few weeks all season.

1) Brandon Jennings 6-1 170 PG Milwaukee Bucks. Drafted: 10
	Stats: 23.4 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 5.8 apg, 45.0% FG, 34.4 mpg Comments: Doing a great job helping the Bucks overachieve. An exciting, true point guard who can score, run an offense and cause havok.

2) Tyreke Evans 6-6 220 G Sacramento Kings. Drafted: 4
	Stats: 19.0 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 4.9 apg, 44.6% FG, 35.7 mpg Comments: A strong, explosive combo guard helping the Kings overachieve. Doing a great job stepping up as a leader with scorer Kevin Martin out injured.

3) Jonny Flynn 6-0 185 PG Minnesota Timberwolves. Drafted: 6
	Stats: 14.1 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 3.2 apg, 44.3% FG, 29.1 mpg Comments: Flynn isn't making big waves yet, but appears to have nice future potential.

4) Stephen Curry 6-3 185 G Golden State Warriors. Drafted: 7
	Stats: 10.2 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 5.2 apg, 1.4 spg, 45.5% FG, 30.5 mpg Comments: Curry will probably steadily improve all season, possibly more than most rookies on this list.

5) Darren Collison 6-0 160 PG New Orleans Hornets. Drafted: 21
	Stats: 10.6 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 4.1 apg, 41.5% FG, 21.3 mpg Comments: Crafty, versatile little guard with a bright NBA future.

6) Ty Lawson 5-11 195 PG Denver Nuggets. Drafted: 18
	Stats: 9.3 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 3.4 apg, 51.0% FG, 21.7 mpg Comments: Better than his stats suggest, Lawson shows great poise on both ends of the floor and a high basketball IQ.

7) Marcus Thornton 6-4 205 G New Orleans Hornets. Drafted: 43
	Stats: 12.2 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 0.8 apg, 45.4% FG, 18.8 mpg Comments: Thornton is showing a nice scoring touch.

8) Terrence Williams 6-6 220 G/F New Jersey Nets. Drafted: 11
	Stats: 10.7 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 2.0 apg, 36.0% FG, 28.1 mpg Comments: A versatile, rugged swingman still finding his shot but playing nice defense.

9) Omri Casspi 6-9 225 SF Sacramento Kings. Drafted: 23
	Stats: 9.5 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.1 apg, 51.6% FG, 22.7 mpg Comments: Aggressive scorer who isn't overly athletic but hustles like crazy on both ends of floor.

10) Taj Gibson 6-9 225 F Chicago Bulls. Drafted: 26
	Stats: 7.1 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 0.7 apg, 1.1 bpg, 46.8% FG, 24.4 mpg Comments: Extremely rugged, very hard-working lanky yet tough forward who defends well.

11) Chase Budinger 6-7 218 SF Houston Chronicle. Drafted: 23
	Stats: 8.1 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.4 apg, 39.5% FG, 18.8 mpg Comments: Contributing nicely to the Rockets in ways that don't always show on the stat-sheet.

12) DeJuan Blair 6-7 265 PF San Antonio Spurs. Drafted: 37
	Stats: 5.5 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 0.9 apg, 57.1% FG, 14.9 mpg Comments: Provides rebounds, defense and rugged toughness in limited minutes.

13) Eric Maynor 6-3 175 PG Utah Jazz. Drafted: 20
	Stats: 6.0 ppg, 1.2 rpg, 3.2 apg, 40.3% FG, 15.1 mpg Comments: Still finding his shot but a solid backup point guard contributing nice limited minutes.

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LAST SEASON: APRIL 30, 2009

Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls and O.J. Mayo of the Memphis Grizzlies were unanimous selections to the 2008-09 NBA All-Rookie First Team, the NBA announced today.

Rounding out the NBA All-Rookie First Team are Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook (53 points), New Jersey’s Brook Lopez (49 points) and Miami’s Michael Beasley (44 points).

The 2008-09 Rookie of the Year, Rose led rookies in assists (6.3 apg), was second in scoring (16.8 ppg), and averaged 3.9 rebounds. A three-time Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month selection (November, December, March), Rose represented Chicago at All-Star Saturday Night in Phoenix, becoming the first rookie to win the PlayStation® Skills Challenge with a time of 35.3 seconds.

A two-time Western Conference Rookie of the Month selection (November, April), Mayo led rookies in scoring (18.5 ppg) and ranked fifth in assists (3.2 apg), and averaged 3.8 rebounds. Mayo, who shot .438 from the floor and .879 from the free throw line, set a Grizzlies rookie record with 1,516 points this season.

Westbrook, a two-time Western Conference Rookie of the Month selection (December, February) was fourth among first-year players in scoring (15.3 ppg) and second in assists (5.3 apg). Westbrook was the only rookie to record a triple-double this season, posting 17 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in a 96-87 win over Dallas on March 2.

Lopez averaged 13.0 points and was second among rookies in rebounds (8.1 rpg) and double-doubles (18). The two-time Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month selection (January, February) led first-year players in blocks (1.8 bpg) and his 151 blocks this season is a Nets rookie record.

Beasley averaged 13.9 points and was eighth among rookies in rebounds (5.4 rpg). The Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month in April, Beasley led the Rookie Team in scoring with 29 points at the Rookie Challenge.

The NBA All-Rookie Second Team consists of the Los Angeles Clippers’ Eric Gordon (39 points), Minnesota’s Kevin Love (34 points), Miami’s Mario Chalmers (29 points), Memphis’ Marc Gasol (25 points), Charlotte’s D.J. Augustin (tie, 17 points) and Portland’s Rudy Fernandez (tie, 17 points).

The voting panel consisted of the NBA’s 30 head coaches, who were asked to select five players for the first team and five players for the second team, regardless of position. Coaches were not permitted to vote for players on their own team. Two points were awarded for first team votes and one for second team votes.

Other players receiving votes, with point totals (first place votes in parentheses): Courtney Lee, Orlando, 12; Jason Thompson, Sacramento, 7; Marreese Speights, Philadelphia, 3; Greg Oden, Portland, 3 (1); Robin Lopez, Phoenix, 2 (1).

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