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Orlando Magic’s Elfrid Payton not shown respect in ROY voting

By Brett David Roberts

Apr 3, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Orlando Magic guard Elfrid Payton (4) against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center. The Magic defeated Timberwolves 97-84. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 3, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Orlando Magic guard Elfrid Payton (4) against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center. The Magic defeated Timberwolves 97-84. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports /
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Elfrid Payton did not just lose to Andrew Wiggins in the 2015 Rookie of the Year voting.  Less acceptably, he also finished behind Nikola Mirotic and Nerlens Noel.

Elfrid Payton by all accounts had a terrific rookie season. He amassed back-to-back triple doubles and led the league in assists down the final stretch of the season. Payton drew comparisons to Rajon Rondo, for better or worse, as a crafty point guard capable of creating something out of nothing.

When Payton went into heavy traffic, we held our collective breath, but so often the result was a crafty fake, an up and under, or a dish leading to a Magic bucket. We learned that the Magic have a playmaker again, and his influence was seen as the Magic began to rely on his offensive talents to create scoring opportunities.

We saw all this unfold, but many did not.

Elfrid Payton finished fourth in NBA Rookie of the Year voting behind the winner, Andrew Wiggins, Nerlens Noel and Nikola Mirotic.

The Magic won just 25 games and were seldom televised outside of local markets. There is a strong chance many of the voters saw few Payton games, and that is just a shortcoming that is not his. Nerlens Noel got more respect, which is perplexing given that Philadelphia is a fellow cellar-dweller. It is more understandable that Nikola Mirotic is awarded credit for keeping the Chicago Bulls contenders.

But how can Payton be so ignored?

He averaged 8.9 points and 6.5 assists per game while also coming up huge defensively, accounting for over 1.7 steals per contest. He started most of the season (63 games) and definitively proved that the Magic have its starting backcourt of the future.

Oladipo, like Payton, did not win the Rookie of the Year award. But both may end up being the best in their respective draft classes, when all things are taken into account, perhaps even seasons from now.

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    • It is frustrating to see the lack of respect afforded to Payton. He got just three first place votes, eight second place votes, and 40 third place votes— 79 total votes, getting left off 51 ballots.

    Wiggins walked away with 110 1st place votes and 664 total points, while Mirotic had 335 total points and Noel tallied 141.

    It is just disproportionate, and in some senses, insulting. Payton did fare far better than Marcus Smart, but that should be self-evident. The lack of competition with Noel is more perplexing, and though Mirotic had a nice stretch of games, he was still a reserve.

    Payton’s three first place votes came from Magic television color analyst Jeff Turner, Magic television sideline reporter Dante Marchitelli and Magic radio play-by-play announcer Dennis Neumann. Further evidence that seeing was believing with Payton. They were the three Magic-affiliated voters among the media voting on the award.

    It stings just a little for the Payton camp, but maybe he uses this as motivation to definitively make his statement as the best rookie from the 2014 class.

    Next: Where does Elfrid rank in all-time Magic floor generals?