Los Angeles - Al Horford, who helped the Atlanta Hawks to their first playoff appearance in seven years, was the lone unanimous selection to the NBA's all-rookie first team, the league announced Tuesday. The Hawks' centre received 58 votes, while NBA Rookie of the Year Kevin Durant of the Seattle SuperSonics collected 57.
The balloting was conducted by a panel of the NBA's 30 head coaches, asked to select five players regardless of position but were not allowed to vote for players from their own team.
Rounding out the first team are Argentine Luis Scola of the Houston Rockets (53 points), Los Angeles Clippers' Al Thornton (48 points) and Seattle's Jeff Green (43 points).
Horford averaged 10.1 points and a rookie-best 9.7 rebounds per game. Durant averaged a rookie-best and team-high 20.3 points along with 4.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 80 games for the SuperSonics, who finished with a franchise-worst 20-62 record.
Scola averaged 10.3 points and 6.4 rebounds for the Rockets. Thornton finished second among rookies in scoring at 12.7 points per game, while Green averaged 10.5 points and 4.7 rebounds for the Sonics.
The second team consists of the Toronto Raptors' Jamario Moon (38 votes), Spain's Juan Carlos Navarro of the Memphis Grizzlies (24), Philadelphia 76ers' Thaddeus Young (23), Detroit Pistons' Rodney Stuckey (22) and Carl Landry of the Houston Rockets (18).
