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Chris Paul of the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets yesterday received the Eddie Gottlieb Trophy as he was named the 2005-06 NBA Rookie of the Year.

Paul received 124 out of a possible 125 first-place votes (623 points) from a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada, the largest percent of votes since David Robinson received 100 percent of first-place votes in 1989-90. Players were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote received. Toronto’s Charlie Villanueva finished second with 248 points and Milwaukee’s Andrew Bogut finished third with 98 points.

Paul, the fourth overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft, averaged rookie highs of 16.1 points, 7.8 assists, 2.24 steals and posted 21 double-doubles to lead the Hornets to a 20-win improvement over last season, the biggest turnaround in the NBA this season. He led the league in total steals with 175, becoming only the second rookie in NBA history to accomplish that feat (Brevin Knight, 1997-98), ranked third in steals per game, fifth in total assists (611) and seventh in assists per game.

Paul received the T-Mobile Western Conference Rookie of the Month award every month of the 2005-06 season, joining David Robinson, Tim Duncan, Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James as the only players in league history to win the award every month. Paul is in the top 10 in eight out of 10 rookie statistical categories. In addition to ranking first in points, assists, steals, double-doubles, minutes (36.3 mpg) and free throw percentage (.847), Paul ranks third in rebounds (5.1 rpg) and fourth in field goal percentage (.430).

Building upon its already strong appeal to the nation’s youth and as the Official Wireless Services Partner of the NBA, T-Mobile is showcasing the NBA’s youngest players -- the Rookies -- through the NBA’s Rookie program. Highlights include the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge, an All-Star competition between NBA rookies and second-year players, and rookie awards presentations including the T-Mobile Rookie of the Year.

The Eddie Gottlieb Trophy is named in honor of Eddie Gottlieb, one of the NBA’s founders who coached the Philadelphia Warriors to the NBA championship in 1946-47.

Following are the voting results for the 2005-06 T-Mobile Rookie of the Year Award and the all-time list of winners:

2005-06 NBA ROOKIE OF THE YEAR AWARD VOTING RESULTS

Rookie, Team                  1st     2nd     3rd    Total
Chris Paul, NOK               124      1       -      623
Charlie Villanueva, Tor.        -      73      29     248
Andrew Bogut, Milwaukee         -      23      29     98
Raymond Felton, Charlotte       -      19      22     79
Channing Frye, New York         -      4       29     41
Deron Williams, Utah            1      5       11     31
Luther Head, Houston            -      -       2      2
Danny Granger, Indiana          -      -       2      2
Ryan Gomes, Boston              -      -       1      1



ALL-TIME T-MOBILE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR AWARD WINNERS

1952-53 - Don Meineke, Fort Wayne
1953-54 - Ray Felix, Baltimore
1954-55 - Bob Pettit, Milwaukee
1955-56 - Maurice Stokes, Rochester
1956-57 - Tom Heinsohn, Boston
1957-58 - Woody Sauldsberry, Philadelphia
1958-59 - Elgin Baylor, Minneapolis
1959-60 - Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia
1960-61 - Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati
1961-62 - Walt Bellamy, Chicago
1962-63 - Terry Dischinger, Chicago
1963-64 - Jerry Lucas, Cincinnati
1964-65 - Willis Reed, New York
1965-66 - Rick Barry, San Francisco
1966-67 - Dave Bing, Detroit
1967-68 - Earl Monroe, Baltimore
1968-69 - Wes Unseld, Baltimore
1969-70 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Milwaukee
1970-71 - Dave Cowens, Boston (tie)
              - Geoff Petrie, Portland (tie)
1971-72 - Sidney Wicks, Portland
1972-73 - Bob McAdoo, Buffalo
1973-74 - Ernie DiGregorio, Buffalo
1974-75 - Keith Wilkes, Golden State
1975-76 - Alvan Adams, Phoenix
1976-77 - Adrian Dantley, Buffalo
1977-78 - Walter Davis, Phoenix
1978-79 - Phil Ford, Kansas City
1979-80 - Larry Bird, Boston
1980-81 - Darrell Griffith, Utah
1981-82 - Buck Williams, New Jersey
1982-83 - Terry Cummings, San Diego
1983-84 - Ralph Sampson, Houston
1984-85 - Michael Jordan, Chicago
1985-86 - Patrick Ewing, New York
1986-87 - Chuck Person, Indiana
1987-88 - Mark Jackson, New York
1988-89 - Mitch Richmond, Golden State
1989-90 - David Robinson, San Antonio
1990-91 - Derrick Coleman, New Jersey
1991-92 - Larry Johnson, Charlotte
1992-93 - Shaquille O'Neal, Orlando
1993-94 - Chris Webber, Golden State
1994-95 - Grant Hill, Detroit (tie)
       - Jason Kidd, Dallas (tie)
1995-96 - Damon Stoudamire, Toronto
1996-97 - Allen Iverson, Philadelphia
1997-98 - Tim Duncan, San Antonio
1998-99 - Vince Carter, Toronto
1999-00 - Elton Brand, Chicago (tie)
               - Steve Francis, Houston (tie)
2000-01 - Mike Miller, Orlando
2001-02 - Pau Gasol, Memphis
2002-03 - Amaré Stoudemire, Phoenix
2003-04 - LeBron James, Cleveland
2004-05 - Emeka Okafor, Charlotte
2005-06 - Chris Paul, New Orleans/Okla. City