Durant named top rookie

May 1, 2008 - 6:21 PM NEW YORK (Ticker) -- Seattle SuperSonics forward Kevin Durant was named the NBA's Rookie of the Year on Thursday.

Durant became the first Seattle player to win the honor, receiving 545 points, including 90 first-place votes.

Atlanta Hawks forward Al Horford, who earned 390 points, finished in second and Houston Rockets forward Luis Scola finished in third.

Durant, the second overall pick in last year's draft out of Texas, became a favorite at the beginning of the year when Portland center Greg Oden, the top pick in the 2007 draft, underwent season-ending knee surgery.

The 19-year-old Durant was one of the few bright spots for the Sonics, who finished 20-62 for the worst record in the franchise's 41-year history.

Durant paced all rookies in scoring, assists and free-throw percentage. He averaged 20.3 points and 2.4 assists per game while shooting 87 percent from the line.

The lanky, 6-10 forward played in 80 games - all starts - and led the Sonics in scoring 47 times, including a career-high 42 points against Golden State on April 16.

Durant's scoring average was the highest for a rookie since LeBron James' mark of 20.9 in 2003-04.