In the National Basketball Association, Charlotte Bobcats forward Emeka Okafor has been named the Rookie of the Year for the 2004-2005 season.
Okafor, the number two pick in last year's NBA Draft, led all rookies in scoring with more than 15 points per game. He also grabbed almost 11 rebounds a game and was second in blocks. He also ranked second in the NBA with almost four offensive rebounds per game.
Okafor received 77 of the 126 first-place votes and 514 points in voting by a panel of writers and broadcasters. Chicago Bulls guard Ben Gordon was second with 433 points.
Cleveland Cavaliers guard LeBron James and Phoenix center Amare Stoudemire were the last two winners of the Rookie of the Year award. Both James and Stoudmire went from high school to the NBA while Okafor helped lead the University of Connecticut to the NCAA title in 2004.
Some information for this report provided by AP
