Report: Andrew Wiggins wins ROY; what about Elfrid Payton?
Andrew Wiggins had a great rookie season and is reportedly this year’s Rookie of the Year, but was Elfrid Payton‘s season better?
It has been reported that Andrew Wiggins has won the 2014-15 Rookie of the Year award. This comes much to the dismay of Orlando Magic fans who witnessed a historically awesome season from guard Elfrid Payton.
Payton along the way strung together back-to-back triple doubles, and had numerous close brushes with what could have been more. He led the NBA in assists in the final month of the season, and he became one of the best playmakers in the game, rookie or not.
Yet, Wiggins shined brightly on the offensive end, putting up numbers even in a nationally televised showdown with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. But Payton outplayed Damian Lillard in his second triple double as the Magic defeated the Portland Trail Blazers at the Amway Center.
Payton had his moments of rookie falterings, but overall he thrived at the hardest position for a rookie to adapt to. Wiggins may have scored considerably more than Elfrid, but the fact remains if not for Payton, the season may have been bleaker still for the 25-win Magic.
Payton demonstrated a lot of maturity, and, no doubt, he will gracefully accept Wiggins winning this award. But that does not mean Payton might not turn it into motivation to one-up both Wiggins and injured No. 2 overall pick Jabari Parker. Some may feel Parker’s early season injury to his ACL opened up the way for Wiggins to waltz to the award. But those who actually were privy to Payton’s season know this award should be closely contested. It may not be, but results on the vote have not yet been released as the selection is not yet official.
To see Payton make the all-rookie first team will be redeeming, as he certainly will receive that honor. But this may be the same situation in which we saw Dwight Howard in, ultimately feeling he had the honor of proving voters wrong in the upcoming seasons following Emeka Okafor taking the Rookie of the Year award.
Certainly, we have seen Victor Oladipo on a mission to prove he is the best of the 2013 class, and another high vote earner will certainly come from that class: rookie Nerlens Noel.
Since Payton did not win the award, it should still be interesting to see if he drew more votes than Noel.
Oladipo and Noel are connected with Milwaukee Bucks guard Michael Carter-Williams (last year’s Rookie of the Year award winner) as the best three in the draft class, with no clear cut advantage being given to any.
Sometimes, it is what follows these snubs that matters most.
Payton may have lost the award, but he could still yet end up a better player than either Wiggins or Parker. It may sound like overly high praise, but Payton is a jump shot away from being very difficult to deal with. He possesses natural skills and court vision that cannot be taught, and after he hones a shot to capitalize more fully on his dexterous and skilled moves near the hoop…after that, he may be the most special in the 2014 rookie class.
For now, we congratulate Wiggins on the award, but simply hope Payton got his fair share of votes from the most astute observers in the media.