Milwaukee Bucks point guard Malcolm Brogdon won 2016-17 Rookie of the Year honors over Joel Embiid and Dario Saric of the Philadelphia 76ers at the NBA Awards on Monday night.
Brogdon, the 36th selection in 2016, was a steady presence for the Bucks in his first NBA campaign. The 24-year-old averaged 10.2 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 4.2 assists in 75 appearances for a playoff team.
Philadelphia's combination was impressive in their own right, but both candidates had flawed cases.
Embiid was the best rookie when it came to per-game production, as he proved to be a dominant two-way forced while averaging 20.2 points and 7.8 rebounds in just 25.4 minutes per game. However, the injury-prone center only appeared in 31 contests and didn't play in back-to-backs.
Saric started slowly, but improved tremendously as the season went on, finishing with averages of 12.8 points and 6.3 rebounds in 81 appearances. However, those numbers came for a lottery-bound team, which could explain why Brogdon edged him out.
