NBA Rookie of the Year

The race for the Kia Rookie of the Year is quickly coming to an end. The leading candidates are Andrew Wiggins, Elfrid Payton, and Nikola Mirotic. This years rookie class was widely affected by injuries and many of the early contenders for this award are now out due to injury. Rookie's Jabari Parker and Julius Randle both got hurt in the beginning of the season, Randle made a comeback at the end of the year but it was not enough to make a statement. Joel Embiid was drafted third overall by Philadelphia but he was injured before the draft and had to sit out all year with a foot injury.

Andrew Wiggins, the first overall draft pick was the favorite for this award before the season even started. He plays mostly at shooting guard and he has started in all 81 games so far this season. He is also a strong leader as a rookie for the struggling Timberwolves. This season he averaged 16.8 points per game which is first among rookies and he also averaged 2 assists, 1 steal and 5 rebounds to fill out his stat sheet.

The next candidate is Nikola Mirotic who was drafted in 2011 but made his debut this year after finishing playing over seas. He is the only candidate that is on a playoff team and he really stepped up in the month of March when he was needed due to injuries to many key players of the Chicago Bulls. He plays about 20 minutes per game and averages 10 points and 5 rebounds. His versatility helps improve his case because he can play both forward spots as well as the center position.

The final candidate is Elfrid Payton of the Orlando Magic. He has been their starting point guard for the majority of the season and has averaged 9 points, 2 steals and 7 assists per game. He plays about 30 minutes per game which is 5th among rookies this year. Lastly, he is the only rookie this year to achieve a triple double and he did it twice. 

I believe that Andrew Wiggins will win the award because he not only averaged the most points but he played the most minutes and has made in impact on the tam since the beginning of he season because he has started all 81 game so far. lastly most of the analysts believe that he will win so i believe he is definitely the favorite for the award.