NBA Awards: Luka Doncic takes home Rookie of the Year

At the NBA Awards on Monday Night, Luka Doncic was tabbed as the Rookie of the Year following his stellar first season.

The NBA Rookie of the Year race was like a beautiful tennis match, with Dallas Mavericks forward Luka Doncic and Atlanta Hawks point guard Trae Young going back and forth throughout the season. At the NBA Awards on Monday Night, the match was finally decided.

The NBA Awards nominated Luka Doncic, Trae Young, and DeAndre Ayton.

DeAndre Ayton was just a filler in the finalists’ category. The race has been between Luka Doncic, and Trae Young all year long.

Luka Doncic stole headlines from the moment he was drafted. Doncic was selected by the Hawks and traded to the Dallas Mavericks for Trae Young and a future first (which conveyed to a 2019 first round pick) making the race even more interesting.

Doncic started hot out of the gate, with his killer step backs, ability to create for himself. Doncic was able to average 21 points per game, six assists, and almost eight rebounds.

Before the All-Star Break, Doncic was shooting the trey ball at a 34 percent clip and shot 43 percent from the floor. Doncic turned in 20 points, seven rebounds, and five assists per game before the break.

At the time of the All-Star festivities, Doncic was a runaway winner, no rookie even in sight of him.

Post the All-Star Break, Doncic did not see his production fall off one bite. The 20-year-old turned in 22 points per game, almost ten rebounds a game (9.9), and dished out seven assists. He also saw his usage rate bump up to 35 percent, from the 29 percent mark Pre-All-Star break thanks to the trading away of Dennis Smith Jr, Wesley Matthews, DeAndre Jordan, and Harrison Barnes.

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However, in the second half of the season, Doncic was old news according to most NBA Media. That is when Trae Young started to close the gap in the eyes of some fans who did not pay close attention to both losing teams.

Pre All-Star break, Trae Young struggled to shoot 31 percent from deep and averaged 16 points (16.9), three rebounds, and seven assists per game during his first 58 NBA games.

Post-All-Star break, Trae Young turned it on and shot 34 percent from deep on his way to averaging 24 points, four rebounds, and nine assists per game.

In game 63, the Atlanta Hawks saw Trae Young light up the Chicago Bulls for 49 points, shot 46 percent from deep in that game going six for sixteen from long distance. Doncic had eight such games on his resume.

Young boosted nine games above 30 points.

This award rightfully went to Mavericks sensation Luka Doncic, who was the better player from wire to wire this season.

Check back with TI to follow along with the rest of the NBA Awards.