NEW YORK – Former Gonzaga standouts
Brandon Clarke and
Rui Hachimura were named NBA All-Rookie First Team and Second Team respectively the league announced Tuesday. The teams are determined by vote from a global panel of sportswriters and broadcasters.
Clarke received the third-most points in the voting (189) and the third-most first team votes (92). Hachimura received 74 points in the voting. Clarke became the first Zag to be named to the league's All-Rookie first team. He was also the first from the West Coast Conference since San Francisco's Quintin Dailey in 1982-83. It was also the first time in conference history that two former players were selected All-Rookie in the same season. Former Zag Kelly Olynyk was second team All-Rookie in 2013-14, and Adam Morrison was second team in 2006-07.
Clarke, who finished fourth in the 2019-20 NBA Rookie of the Year voting, set the NBA rookie record (among league qualifiers) for field goal percentage (.618, fourth in the NBA) and ranked first among qualified rookies in rebounds (5.9), second in blocks (0.83) and 10th in scoring average (12.1 points). Among advanced statistics, Clarke led rookies in win shares (5.0) and established new league rookie records for effective field goal percentage (.642) and true shooting percentage (.663).
Selected by Oklahoma City with the 21st overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft before his rights were later traded to Memphis, Clarke was one of three NBA players with more reserve appearances than starts to average at least 12.0 points and 6.0 rebounds off the bench. He also contributed to Memphis leading the NBA in bench field goal percentage (.479) this season.
Hachimura was the first Wizards player to be named NBA All-Rookie Second Team since 2003-04 and the fifth player overall in franchise history to make the squad. Hachimura was selected with the ninth overall pick by the Wizards in the 2019 NBA Draft, becoming the first Japanese born player drafted in the first round. In his inaugural campaign, he averaged 13.5 points, 6.1 rebounds on 46.6 shooting from the field. Hachimura led all rookies in rebounds per game and finished fifth in scoring among rookies on the season. He also led all rookies with 18 games of at least 10+ points and seven or more rebounds.
Hachimura posted 10 games of 20+ points, including a career-high 30 points on 13-of-23 shooting from the field against the Clippers in Los Angeles on December 1. He was selected to represent the World Team in the Rising Stars Challenge during the 2020 All-Star Weekend in Chicago.
Hachimura, who received 54 Second Team votes and 10 First Team votes (74 total voting points), joins Miami's Tyler Herro, Toronto's Terence Davis II, Chicago's Coby White, and Charlotte's P.J. Washington on the team.
The other four members of the 2019-20 NBA All-Rookie First Team are Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant, Miami Heat guard Kendrick Nunn, New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson and Golden State Warriors forward Eric Paschall.
