| | Associated Press
HOUSTON -- This time, Elton Brand is going to have to share.
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| Francis |
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| Brand |
The No. 1 pick in last summer's draft will share the NBA's
Rookie of the Year Award with Houston's Steve Francis, the No. 2
pick last summer, a league source confirmed Tuesday.
The award will be announced Thursday.
It will be only the third time a pair of rookies will share the
award. Jason Kidd and Grant Hill were co-winners in 1994-95, and
Dave Cowens and Geoff Petrie shared in 1970-71.
Brand, the 1998-99 consensus college player of the year, said
from the day he was drafted by the Chicago Bulls he wanted to win
Rookie of the Year. And it wasn't just about adding to the
collection in his trophy case.
He was criticized before the draft as too short and too bland. Francis, on the other hand, had the flash and flair to carry a team and excite the fans.
So Brand worked. Despite being the defensive focal point for Bulls' opponents, he
led all rookies in scoring (20.1 points), rebounds (10), blocked
shots (1.63), minutes (37) and double-doubles (42). He led the
entire NBA with 4.3 offensive rebounds a game.
He joined David Robinson, Shaquille O'Neal, Alonzo Mourning and Tim Duncan as rookies to average 20 points and 10 rebounds in the past decade.
When he scored a career-high 44 points against the Washington
Wizards on April 13, it was the highest output by a rookie since Allen Iverson ended his streak of five 40-point-plus games with 50 on April 12, 1997.
"A lot of people have said Elton deserves to win, which I agree
with," Bulls veteran Will Perdue said last month. "They've also
stated that they think (Steve) Francis and (Lamar) Odom have more
of an upside for the future. I've also read where people have said
(Brand) won't get any better.
"I'd say he's pretty (darn) good right now. But I think he also
will get better."
But Francis, traded to the Rockets after originally being
drafted by the Vancouver Grizzlies, came on strong the last month
of the season. He scored 30 or more four times in the last month of
the season, and averaging 20.8 points, 6.9 assists and 6.5 rebounds
in April.
He was the rookie leader in steals (6.6 per game), and finished
second to Brand with 18 points a game.
He was fifth in scoring among all point guards in the NBA, and
just the seventh rookie to average at least 15 points, five assists
and five rebounds, joining Oscar Robertson, Alvan Adams, Magic
Johnson, Michael Jordan, Penny Hardaway and Hill.
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