5 NBA Players who were unanimously named Rookie of the Year

The NBA Draft is held every year right after the conclusion of the NBA Finals, to select the best players coming out of college from the United States and from overseas.

All the non-playoff teams from the previous season participate and pick according to the Lottery Process, which takes place at the annual NBA Draft lottery, with the first pick going to the winner of the Lottery.

Since the start of the 1952-53 NBA Season, the Annual Rookie of the Year award has been conferred to the best Rookie of the regular season.

The winner of the award is selected by a panel of Sportswriters and Broadcasters across the United States and Canada. The Voting is cast for the First (5 points), Second (3 points), and Third position (1 point). The Rookie with the highest aggregate points wins the prestigious Rookie of the Year Award.

In most seasons, the race for the Rookie of the Year is neck to neck, which often leads the voting panel into divisiveness.

However, there have been five instances in the history of the NBA, where the Rookies were so dominant, that they ended up receiving all the First place votes and, as a result, won the award resoundingly.

So, here are five rookies who were named unanimously Rookie of the Year.

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#5 Ralph Sampson (No.1 Pick 1983 NBA Draft, Selected By the Houston Rockets)

The 7 foot 4-inch tall center was so dominant in his early career that he was named an All-Star in his Rookie season

NBA Career Accolades

NBA Rookie of the Year (1984), 4 X NBA All-Star (1984-1987), NBA All-Star Game MVP (1985), All NBA Second Team (1985)

Rookie Season Stats: 21.0 ppg, 11.1 rpg, 2.4 bpg, 2.0 apg

One of the most promising talents of his generation, Ralph Sampson Jr., back in his heyday, was a force to be reckoned with.

The 7 foot 4-inch tall center was so dominant in his early career that he was named an All-Star in his Rookie season. For his first three seasons with the Rockets, Sampson averaged a double-double of 20.7 points and 10.9 rebounds per game.

In one of the most memorable moments of his career, he helped the Rockets beat the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1986 Western Conference Finals behind a buzzer-beater to take them to their Second ever NBA Finals.

However, injuries began to take their toll on his slender body and after three knee surgeries and numerous back issues, he was out of the NBA by 1992.

For his efforts and contributions in the NBA, he was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012.

#4 David Robinson (No.1 Pick 1987 NBA Draft, Selected By the San Antonio Spurs)

David Robinson

NBA Career Accolades

NBA Rookie of the Year (1990), 2 X NBA Champion (1999, 2003), NBA Most Valuable Player (1995), 10 X NBA All-Star (1990-1996, 1998, 2000, 2001), 4 X All NBA First Team (1991,1992,1995,1996), 2 X All NBA Second Team (1994, 1998), 4 X All NBA Third Team (1990, 1993, 2000, 2001), NBA Defensive Player Of The Year (1992), 4 X All-Defensive First Team (1991, 1992, 1995, 1996), 4 X All-Defensive Second Team (1990, 1993, 1994, 1998), NBA Scoring Champion (1994), NBA Blocks Leader (1992), NBA Rebounding Leader (1991)

Rookie Season Stats: 24.3 ppg, 12.0 rpg, 3.9 bpg, 2.0 apg, 1.7 spg

Widely regarded as one of the greatest centers of all time, David Robinson played out his whole career for the San Antonio Spurs, who initially drafted him with the First overall pick in the 1987 NBA Draft.

He went on to be named the Rookie of the Year unanimously after averaging eye-popping numbers (see above) and leading the Spurs to the playoffs with the greatest single-season turnaround in NBA History at that time.

One of the most prolific shot blockers in NBA History, the Admiral averaged an insane 3 blocks per game for his entire career and is also one of only four players to record a quadruple-double in an NBA Game.

For his contributions to the game of Basketball, he was enshrined into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, once as a member of the 1992 Dream Team (2010) and other, for his individual career in 2009.

#3 Blake Griffin (No.1 Pick 2009 NBA Draft, Selected By the Los Angeles Clippers)

Blake Griffin at the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge

NBA Career Accolades

NBA Rookie of the Year (2011), NBA All-Rookie First Team (2011), 6 X NBA All-Star, 3 X All NBA Second Team (2012-2014), 2 X All NBA Third Team (2015, 2019), NBA Slam Dunk Contest Champion (2011)

Rookie Season Stats: 22.5 ppg, 12.1 rpg, 3.8 apg

Drafted by the Los Angeles Clippers with the First Overall Pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, the 6'9 Forward had an early setback as he broke his left kneecap during the final game of the pre-season and missed the entire 2009-10 NBA Season.

For the 2010-11 NBA Season, Griffin set numerous franchise records in scoring and rebounding for a Rookie. He became the first player since Allen Iverson to score two 40-point games in his first season.

As a result, Griffin was named an All-Star in his first season. He became the first player since 1998 (Tim Duncan) to be named an All-Star reserve by the coaches.

Griffin averaged a double-double for his Rookie year and was subsequently named the Rookie of the Year unanimously, winning all the first place votes.

His Rookie campaign is widely regarded as one of the greatest Rookie seasons in NBA History.

#2 Damian Lillard (No.6 Pick 2012 NBA Draft, Selected By the Portland Trail Blazers)

Portland Guard Damian Lillard in action against the Golden State Warriors

NBA Career Accolades

NBA Rookie of the Year (2013), NBA All-Rookie First Team (2013), 4 X NBA All-Star (2014, 2015, 2018, 2019), All-NBA First Team (2018), 2 X All-NBA Second Team (2016, 2019), All-NBA Third Team (2014)

Rookie Season Stats: 19.0 ppg, 6.5 apg, 3.1 rpg

The 6'3 point guard out of Weber State was selected with the sixth overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, the same draft class as Anthony Davis.

Except for Davis, who was selected with the First Overall pick in the Draft, the 2012 class was a relatively weaker class with many high profile rookies such as Bradley Beal, Dion Waiters and Thomas Robinson performing underwhelmingly.

Lillard, who was neither highly recruited nor regarded by NBA Executives outshined every other Rookie in his class as he set many records in his Rookie season.

In his NBA Debut against the Los Angeles Lakers, Lillard recorded 23 points and 11 assists thus joining Oscar Robertson and Allen Iverson as the only players in NBA History to record 20 points and 10 assists in their Debut.

He also led all the Rookies in scoring, assists and eventually broke the all-time NBA Rookie record for 3-pointers made in a season (185 3PM), breaking Stephen Curry's record set in 2009-10 NBA season.

He was subsequently named the unanimous Rookie of the Year for his stunning performance as a Rookie.

#1 Karl-Anthony Towns (No.1 Pick 2015 NBA Draft, Selected By the Minnesota Timberwolves)

Karl-Anthony Towns against the Detroit Pistons

NBA Career Accolades:

NBA Rookie of the Year (2016), NBA All-Rookie First Team (2016), 2 X NBA All-Star (2018, 2019), All-NBA Third Team (2018)

Rookie Season Stats: 18.3 ppg, 10.5 rpg, 2.0 apg

Karl-Anthony Towns was undisputably selected First Overall ahead of talented players like D'Angelo Russell, Kristaps Porzingis and Jahlil Okafor. It's a testament to how much better Towns seemed talent-wise than the rest of his Draft class to the NBA executives.

Many Pundits expected him to make an immediate impact for the Minnesota Timberwolves and some even expected him to be a superstar in the league by his sophomore season.

The Kentucky Alumnus did not disappoint as he had a stellar Rookie campaign, averaging a double-double over the course of an entire season to take home the honors of Rookie of the Year unanimously ahead of New York Knicks' Kristaps Porzingis.

A center with the skill-set of a guard, Towns was invited to participate in Skills Challenge during the All-Star weekend, which he won against point guard Isaiah Thomas.