Roy selected as NBA's top rookie

May 2, 2007, 18:25 GMT

New York, NY - Portland Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy was a near-unanimous choice as the NBA's Rookie of the Year.

Roy earned first-place votes on all but one of the 128 ballots cast by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. He received 638 total points to easily outdistance Toronto's Andrea Bargnani for the honor.

Bargnani, the first overall pick of last June's draft, garnered one first- place vote and 264 points. Memphis' Rudy Gay finished third in the balloting with 93 points and Charlotte's Adam Morrison was fourth.

Selected with the sixth overall pick by the Minnesota Timberwolves, Roy was dealt to Portland for the draft rights to Randy Foye, who finished fifth in the voting.

Roy averaged rookie highs of 16.8 points, 4.0 assists and 35.4 minutes in 57 games this season.

'It's rare to see a rookie step in, assume a leadership role and become a go- to guy as Brandon did this past season,' said Trail Blazers head coach Nate McMillan. 'Brandon is a phenomenal young talent and has a chance to become a very special player in this league.'

Roy scored 20-plus points 16 times during the season, shot 45.6 percent from the floor and 83.8 percent from the free throw line. He led the team in scoring in seven of his final 10 games during the season.

The Blazers finished the season just 32-50 and missed the playoffs for a fourth straight year, but the team did manage an 11-game improvement from last season's 21-61 mark.

Roy, who played collegiately at Washington, became the third Blazer to win the award, joining Geoff Petrie (1970-71) and Sidney Wicks (1971-72).

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