Cavs' Irving named NBA's top rookie

May 15, 2012 - 2:50 PM New York, NY (Sports Network) - Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving has been named the NBA's Rookie of the Year.

Irving, the first overall pick of last June's draft, was a near unanimous choice. He received 117 first-place votes and 592 points from a panel of 120 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout North America.

Minnesota's Ricky Rubio was second in the balloting with 170 points despite not receiving a first-place vote. Kenneth Faried of Denver was next with 129 points, followed by San Antonio's Kawhi Leonard and Iman Shumpert of the New York Knicks. Faried, Leonard and Shumpert each garnered one first-place vote.

Irving led all first-year players in scoring with an average of 18.5 points and was second in assists with 5.4 per game. He joined Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson, Allen Iverson and LeBron James as the only top overall picks to average at least 18.0 points and 5.0 assists.

The Duke product was first among rookies in field goal shooting at 46.9 percent and free throw shooting at 87.2 percent. He joined James, in 2003-04, as the only Cavaliers to earn top rookie honors.