After a stellar season that showed glimpses of stardom, Marvin Bagley III has officially taken home the first major accolade in his professional career.
The NBA announced Tuesday afternoon that the Sacramento Kings forward was selected to the All-Rookie first team, the fifth former Blue Devil to make an All-Rookie team since 2015 along with Jahlil Okafor, Justise Winslow, Brandon Ingram and Jayson Tatum.
Bagley received 56 out of 100 possible first team votes and is joined by Luka Dončić, Trae Young, DeAndre Ayton, and Jaren Jackson Jr. It marks the first time since 1985 where each of the first five selections in the NBA Draft made the All-Rookie first team, a class that included the likes of Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Charles Barkley.
Coming off the bench with another former Blue Devil, Harry Giles III, the second overall pick in the 2018 draft flashed many of the same skills that he showed Duke fans in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Former Kings coach Dave Joerger, who has since been replaced by Luke Walton, didn't give Bagley many opportunities at the beginning of the season and only started him four games, but the big man took advantage of his opportunities. His numbers per 36 minutes inflate to an impressive 21.2 points and 10.8 rebounds per contest.
The Arizona native posted double-digit scoring figures in his final 15 games of the season and played his best game on Feb. 10th against the Suns, scoring 32 points and grabbing seven rebounds. Bagley was also named to the NBA's Rising Stars game in this season's All-Star Weekend and threw down some spectacular dunks over the course of the year.
Bagley spent his lone collegiate season in Durham after skipping his senior year of high school and reclassifying in August of 2017. While at Duke, he averaged 21.0 points and 11.1 rebounds per game and is one of only three players to ever win ACC Rookie and Player of the Year honors in the same season, along with Okafor in 2015 and Zion Williamson in 2019.
Wendell Carter Jr., who only played 44 games this season, and Giles were the only other former Duke players to receive votes for the All-Rookie teams, picking up seven and two respectively.
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