http://www.nba.com/features/rookie_050331.html
Let the debate begin: Kidd -- Emeka's my ROY | Pippen -- Gordon's my guy
The best friends have sup****ted each other on the journey from college
roommates, teammates and NCAA Champions to promising pro careers. As their
first season in the NBA comes to a close, Emeka Okafor and Ben Gordon now
find themselves on opposite sides in the race for the got milk? Rookie of
the Year award -- along with Dwight Howard, the No. 1 overall pick in last
year's NBA Draft, and Philadelphia's Andre Iguodala, among others.
''We used to kid each other early about who was going to win the Rookie of
the Year award,'' Gordon told the Chicago Sun-Times after practice March
29.
''But then it kind of got old, sort of like a long joke because the season
is so long. So we've put that off to the side, and now we're just trying
to
win as many games as possible for our respective teams.''
While the two rookies may not be jawing back and forth about who'll walk
with what honors, that doesn't mean the topic isn't being discussed in
basketball circles. Current and former players, NBA analysts and media
members have taken up the argument for the respective rookies.
Scottie Pippen, one of the NBA's 50 Greatest Players, and it must be
noted,
a former Bull, last week endorsed Gordon for top rookie honors in his
NBA.com blog. "I think Ben deserves the honor over Emeka Okafor of the
Bobcats," wrote Pippen, "because he's been much more productive while
playing less minutes. Plus, the Bulls are winning."
After Big Ben's performance in Wednesday's head-to-head matchup in
Charlotte, it's hard to argue with Pippen. Gordon took over down the
stretch
once again, pumping in the final 16 Bulls points to give him 22 in the
final
stanza en route a 102-99 victory. Gordon tallied 35 for the game in only
23
minutes of action.
While Gordon poured in points, Okafor did nearly everything else for the
Bobcats in a losing effort, collecting 10 rebounds, four blocks, two
steals
and one assist to complement his 17 points. Okafor's well-rounded game has
New Jersey's Jason Kidd - co-award winner in 1995 - thinking Charlotte's
big
man has the inside track on the award.
"Take it from me," Kidd responded to Pippen's pro-Gordon comments, "I've
won
the award before and I know that Emeka's all-around contributions - not
just
scoring - are what it takes to win the top honor."
Who will win: Okafor, Gordon or somebody else? All we can do is argue and
theorize until the votes have been cast. Until then, take a look at their
season stats below and cast your vote (to the right on this page). May the
best man win.
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