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Joe DeMartinoESPN Editor
LaMelo Ball. Anthony Edwards. The former is one of the most exciting young point guards in the NBA, averaging 15.7 PPG, 5.9 RPG, and 6.1 APG for the Charlotte Hornets. The latter looks to be one of the Minnesota Timberwolves‘ most reliable scorers, putting up 19.3 PPG and shooting 41.7 percent from the field. Both excelled during their debut seasons and provided their teams with hope and excitement for the future.
But only one is (reportedly) Rookie of the Year.
Sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that Ball, who followed his brother Lonzo Ball into the NBA this season, has won the NBA’s 2020-21 Rookie of the Year award. Ball pretty much immediately showed he was an NBA-caliber point guard, tossing highlight-reel passes to his teammates and generally looking more comfortable out there than any rookie should. But does that warrant him being selected over such an electric young scorer as Edwards, who rewarded the Timberwolves’ faith in selecting him first in last year’s draft?
As always, the NBA as a whole had some thoughts about the selection, even on such a busy NBA news day, starting off with Edwards’ team and Karl-Anthony Towns:
lol
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) June 16, 2021
???
— Karl-Anthony Towns (@KarlTowns) June 16, 2021
Meanwhile, Edwards approvingly quote-tweeted an account saying that this would only inspire him to have a huge sophomore season.
— Anthony Edwards (@theantedwards_) June 16, 2021
For LaMelo and some of his Charlotte Hornets teammates, however, the mood was celebratory.
it’s uppp brudda ???? https://t.co/zQNXT9E0Sg
— Melo (@MELOD1P) June 16, 2021
Told y’all ??? https://t.co/wTtQDhfYxf
— Miles Bridges (@MilesBridges) June 16, 2021
Regardless of whether it was the right choice or not, it’s pretty cool to see the league’s future in such good hands.