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By all accounts, former Pitt center Steven Adams had a pretty modest rookie campaign. His vital stats of 3.3 points and 4.1 rebounds per game weren't bad for a first effort by a player deemed a project, but Adams hardly set the world on fire. Still, his rookie campaign impressed someone. So much, in fact, that Adams garnered a third-place Rookie of the Year vote.
As expected, Michael Carter-Williams finished first after leading all rookies in scoring with nearly 17 points a game.
I'm glad to see Adams get the recognition, small as it may be. Still, it's hard to figure out just why he did. The center's numbers, after all, pale in comparison to the rest of the rookies. FWIW, Adams did finish second in field goal percentage, making just over 50% of his shots from the field. Other than that, though, he wasn't all that impressive compared to the rest of the league's rookies:
Points per game: 3.3 (28th among rookies)
Rebounds per game: 4.1 (8th)
Assists per game: .5 (26th)
Blocks per game: .7 (9th)
Steals per game: .5 (17th)
Free throw %: 58% (22nd - last among qualifiers)
I like Adams as much as the next guy, but am hard-pressed to see how he deserved any Rookie of the Year award consideration. The funny thing here is that three players each secured more than one first-place vote - Michael Carter-Williams, Victor Oladipo, and Mason Plumlee. Whoever voted for Adams didn't even vote one of those guys in his top three.
Crazy.
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