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Cream of the crop Brand, Francis share Rookie of the Year honors
Posted: Thursday May 11, 2000 11:13 PM
CHICAGO (AP) -- When Elton Brand and Steve Francis talked to each other this week, their conversation went something like a game of hot potato. "You're going to get it." "No, you're going to get it." Relax, guys, you both got it. Brand and Francis, the first two picks in last summer's draft, were co-winners of the NBA's Rookie of the Year award Thursday. It's only the third time a pair of rookies has shared the honor. Jason Kidd and Grant Hill were co-winners in 1994-95, and Dave Cowens and Geoff Petrie shared in 1970-71. "Any rookie will tell you they want to be the sole winner, but I was going up against the No. 1 pick and it's tough to beat him out," Francis said. "But I definitely thought they selected two of the best players." Added Brand, "I have a part of it, a part of history. You can't be disappointed about winning rookie of the year. Even if it's co-winners, you can't be too disappointed about that." Brand said he also was sharing the award with his mother, Daisy, who moved to Chicago with him and attended all but one of his games. He surprised his mother with flowers and gave her a kiss after accepting the award. "Without my mom, it would have been a lot of tougher," said Brand, who turned 21 in March. "At 21 years old, it definitely helps having your mom in the area." Brand and Francis each received 58 of a possible 121 votes from a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. Lamar Odom of the Los Angeles Clippers received three votes, and Andre Miller of the Cleveland Cavaliers got two. Brand is the only Chicago Bull besides Michael Jordan to win the rookie award. Jordan won it in 1984-85. He also was the Bulls' first-ever No. 1 pick. "He absolutely lived up to our expectations," Bulls coach Tim Floyd said. "He deserves the credit for that because he had a lot of pressure on him as the No. 1 pick, particularly in this organization because of what preceded him." Francis, traded to the Houston Rockets in August after initially being selected second overall by the Vancouver Grizzlies, is only the second Rocket to win the award. Ralph Sampson won it in 1983-84. "He came into a changing environment where we had more than 20 starting lineups, and through it all he grew by leaps and bounds," Houston coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. "Today, Steve Francis is a very good NBA player and he has a chance to be one of the best-ever at his position. He will get better." Brand led all rookies in scoring (20.1 points), rebounding (10), blocked shots (1.63) and minutes (37) per game. He also was tops in double-doubles (42) and led the entire NBA with 4.3 offensive rebounds per game. He joined David Robinson, Shaquille O'Neal, Alonzo Mourning and Tim Duncan as the only rookies to average 20 points and 10 rebounds in the last decade. His career-high 44 points against the Washington Wizards on April 13 was the highest output by a rookie since Allen Iverson ended his streak of five 40-point-plus games with 50 on April 12, 1997. "It's really an honor," Brand said. "Your whole season, you think about it pretty hard. Of course you're team-oriented, but it's always in the back of your mind." It's also a little bit of vindication after some said Brand didn't deserve to be the No. 1 pick. He was too small to bang with the big boys, critics said. He didn't have Francis' flash or flair. He'd never carry a team. "Look at the records," Bulls general manager Jerry Krause said. "I don't have to say any more." Francis was an early favorite for the award and sealed it with a strong push at the end, scoring 30 or more points four times in the last month. He averaged 20.8 points, 6.9 assists and 6.5 rebounds in April, when he and Brand shared rookie of the month honors. Francis also won the monthly honors in December and March; Brand won in January and February. Francis was the rookie leader in steals (at 6.6 per game) and finished second to Brand with 18 points per game. He was fifth in scoring among all point guards in the NBA and just the seventh rookie to average at least 15 points, five assists and five rebounds. Hill, Oscar Robertson, Alvan Adams, Magic Johnson, Jordan and Penny Hardaway were the others. "He has tremendous heart," Tomjanovich said. "He is fearless and is very coachable and open-minded. What makes him so special is he wants to do it the right way. "He knows the measure of a great player is he makes his teammates better, and he will never do anything at the expense of his teammates."
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