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San Antonio, TX – The NBA today announced that San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard was named to the NBA’s 2011-12 All-Rookie First Team. Joining Leonard on the NBA’s All-Rookie First Team is Cleveland guard Kyrie Irving, Minnesota guard Ricky Rubio, Denver forward Kenneth Faried, Golden State guard Klay Thompson, New York guard Iman Shumpert and Detroit guard Brandon Knight.
Leonard is the sixth Spur to be named to the All-Rookie First Team. This marks the 10th time in team history that San Antonio has placed a player on any All-Rookie team.
Appearing in 64 games (39 starts) this season, Leonard averaged 7.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.33 steals and 1.1 assists in 24.0 minutes of action. His 39 starts marked the most by a rookie under San Antonio head coach Gregg Popovich since Tony Parker’s 72 starts during the 2001-02 season.
Leonard, who scored in double figures 24 times during the regular season, shot .493 (199-404) from the floor and .376 (41-109) from three-point range. Among NBA rookies, Leonard ranked third in steals, third in field goal percentage, fourth in rebounding, fifth in 3FG percentage and 13th in scoring. He posted four double-doubles on the season and was one of just four rookies to record four-or-more double-doubles.
Below is a complete list of San Antonio selections to the NBA’s All-Rookie teams:
Season Player Team________
2011-12 Kawhi Leonard First Team
2010-11 Gary Neal First Team
2009-10 DeJuan Blair Second Team
2002-03 Manu Ginobili Second Team
2001-02 Tony Parker First Team
1997-98 Tim Duncan First Team
1989-90 David Robinson First Team
1989-90 Sean Elliott Second Team
1988-89 Willie Anderson First Team
1987-88 Greg Anderson Only one team
The voting panel consisted of the NBA’s 30 head coaches, who were asked to select five players for the first team and five players for the second team, regardless of position. Coaches were not permitted to vote for players on their own team. Two points were awarded for first team votes and one for second team votes.