Nerlens Noel named to First-Team All-Rookie
Selecting the five best rookies in the NBA was pretty easy this year. That's why no one was shocked to see Nerlens Noel's name when the league announced First-Team All-Rookie on Monday.
Noel received 125 of a possible 130 First-Team votes.
"I'm thankful to be on the first team with a great group of young players," Noel told Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. "This is only the beginning."
The rest of the First-Team was made up of Jordan Clarkson, Elfrid Payton, Andrew Wiggins and Nikola Mirotic.
Noel was drafted in 2013, but missed what would have been his entire first season with an injury. Instead, he qualified as a rookie for the 2014-15 season and ended up finishing third in Rookie of the Year voting (behind the victor, Wiggins, and the runner-up, Mirotic). Noel averaged 9.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, 1.9 blocks and 1.8 steals after dominating at the end of the year.
It's only up from here.