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Nerlens Noel fell a bit short of winning Rookie of the Year, but today he was awarded a nice consolation prize. Noel has been officially named as a First Team All-Rookie member in near unanimous fashion.
Per the NBA's official PR account, Noel received 125 out of a possible 130 first-team votes, trailing only Nikola Mirotic (128) and Andrew Wiggins (all 130) in the voting. Elfrid Payton and Jordan Clarkson rounded out the first team.
The NBA's official press release included a nice blurb on Noel:
Noel led all rookies in rebounding (8.1 rpg), steals (1.77 spg, 10th in the NBA) and blocks (1.89 bpg, seventh in the league). He was the only player in the league to rank in the top 10 in both steals and blocks. Noel became the second rookie in NBA history to average at least 1.50 steals and 1.50 blocks; David Robinson accomplished the feat in 1989-90.
Not bad company to keep! Noel was the only member of that trio not to recieve votes from every member of the voting public. Our own Jake Fischer did some digging on the guilty parties:
Five media members who didn't vote Nerlens Noel 1st-Team All Rookie: Candace Buckner, Sam Smith, Bob Fitzgerald, Bob Rathbun, Steve Holman.
— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) May 18, 2015
Amazingly, Bob Fitzgerald, Bob Rathbun and Steve Holman all left Nerlens Noel completely off their All-Rookie ballots.
— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) May 18, 2015
Anti-Noel sentiment seems to be high in the Georgia region for some reason, as Rathbun and Holman are both primarily associated with the Atlanta Hawks.
Outside of those few stragglers, Noel's play on the court appears to have left its mark on league observers. After sitting out his first season rehabbing and recovering from a major knee injury, this is a major victory for both Noel and the organization that drafted him.