Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball, Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards lead NBA All-Rookie 1st Team; Knicks’ Immanuel Quickley on 2nd Team
Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball and Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards have been unanimously selected to the 2020-21 NBA All-Rookie First Team, the NBA announced today. Ball, the 2020-21 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year, and Edwards received NBA All-Rookie First Team votes on all 99 ballots from a global panel of sportswriters and broadcasters.
Joining Ball and Edwards (198 total points each) on the 2020-21 NBA All-Rookie First Team are Sacramento Kings guard Tyrese Haliburton (197 points; 98 First Team votes), Detroit Pistons forward Saddiq Bey (162 points; 63 First Team votes) and Houston Rockets forward Jae’Sean Tate (154 points; 57 First Team votes).
Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley made NBA All-Rookie 2nd team. He made the 1st team on 51 of 99 ballots. Saddiq Bey (162 points) and Jae'Sean Tate (154 points) just edged out Quickley (148 points) for 1st team pic.twitter.com/jMrDxtigvw
Ball led first-year NBA players in assists (6.1 apg) and steals (1.59 spg) and ranked second in scoring (15.7 ppg) and rebounding (5.9 rpg). He won the first three Kia NBA Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month awards. Edwards, the first overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, averaged a rookie-high 19.3 points per game. He was named the Kia NBA Western Conference Rookie of the Month in each of the final three months of the season.
Haliburton, who won the first two Kia NBA Western Conference Rookie of the Month awards, ranked third among rookies in scoring (13.0 ppg) and second in assists (5.3 apg). Bey, the 19th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, made a rookie-leading 175 three-pointers and was named the NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week for Week 8. Tate, who was not selected in the 2018 NBA Draft, averaged 11.3 points and 5.3 rebounds with the Rockets after playing last season for the Sydney Kings in Australia’s National Basketball League.
The 2020-21 NBA All-Rookie Second Team consists of New York Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley (148 points), Memphis Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane (88), Pistons center Isaiah Stewart (71), Cleveland Cavaliers guard-forward Isaac Okoro (53) and Chicago Bulls forward Patrick Williams (50).
The media voting panel selected five players for the NBA All-Rookie First Team and five players for the NBA All-Rookie Second Team at any position. Players received two points for each First Team vote and one point for each Second Team vote.
The voting results for the 2020-21 NBA All-Rookie Team are below. The balloting was tabulated by the independent accounting firm Ernst & Young LLP. Complete ballots for each voter for the NBA All-Rookie Team and the league’s other end-of-season awards will be posted at PR.NBA.com on Friday, June 18.
2020-21 NBA ALL-ROOKIE FIRST TEAM
Player (Team)
First Team Votes(2 Points)
Second Team Votes(1 Point)
TotalPoints
LaMelo Ball (Charlotte)
99
0
198
Anthony Edwards (Minnesota)
99
0
198
Tyrese Haliburton (Sacramento)
98
1
197
Saddiq Bey (Detroit)
63
36
162
Jae’Sean Tate (Houston)
57
40
154
2020-21 NBA ALL-ROOKIE SECOND TEAM
Player (Team)
First Team Votes(2 Points)
Second Team Votes (1 Point)
TotalPoints
Immanuel Quickley (New York)
51
46
148
Desmond Bane (Memphis)
9
70
88
Isaiah Stewart (Detroit)
8
55
71
Isaac Okoro (Cleveland)
1
51
53
Patrick Williams (Chicago)
2
46
50
Below are the other players who received votes for the 2020-21 NBA All-Rookie Team.
Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle.
A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013.
He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.
