Kevin Durant wins the R.O.Y.

Kevin Durant was named Rookie of the Year yesterday, earning a majority (90 of 125) of the first place votes. While this isn't as much of a walk away win as Brandon Roy's last year (with only the delirious Chuck Swirsky not voting for him), it is still quite decisive. My personal opinion is that Durant was the most deserving for the ROY award this year. On a team already facing turmoil, removed of its star players leaving him with no real mentors at his position, Durant met and exceeded many of our expectations for his first season. While his efforts didn't produce an abundance of wins, and while he went through his fair share of shooting struggles, Durant also showed flashes of brilliance and demonstrated why he is the future of the Seattle Supersonics. My favorite highlights include his game winning three vs. Atlanta, and his late (and deeep) three ball to seal the win against Denver late in the season.

Atlanta Hawks coach Mike Woodson thinks that it is a travesty that rookie F/C Al Horford wasn't selected to share the award if not winning it outright. This comes down to the age old question on whether these individual awards (along with the MVP award) should be awarded to the player who performs the best statistically, or the player who means the most to their team. I personally feel like the ROY at least should go to the BEST rookie, regardless of overall team performance - and Durant was just that. I think that the MVP award has even more gray area in this regard, as the player who is "most valuable" to their team might not necessarily have the best stats in the world - but you can bet that they will inherently be better than most.

And for those of you wondering, yes, Greg Oden will indeed be eligible for the ROY award next year because he never played in a game this year.