NBA monthly awards don't mean anything. I always wonder what LeBron James does with the awards, having won so many. Is there like a closet in his house where he just throws them into? Does he give them away to friends? Do his kids play checkers with them?
They're just small notices of accomplishment. If the NBA Player of the Month award is meaningless, then Rookie of the Month is beyond meaningless. It's somehow in an entire dimension of meaninglessness unto itself. They have to reward someone, and more than that, they split the award into conferences.
That said, Karl-Anthony Towns has won it in back to back months, as the NBA announced Monday that he'd won it in December for the West. It's a nice reward for Towns as he averaged 18.6 points and 9.5 rebounds per game this past month. So how often does this happen?
Well, all the time. Andrew Wiggins won four in a row last year. MCW won back to back the year before. Damian Lillard, Chris Paul, Blake Griffin all won six consecutive times, sweeping their conference awards. (Of note, Kevin Durant actually won fewer Rookie of the Month awards than Lillard. There's some fun trivia for those Friday night dinner parties you love.)
However, there is something notable, starting with Towns and his Eastern Conference competitor for Rookie of the Year, New York Knicks big man Kristaps Porzingis.
Towns and Porzingis became the first duo to win Rookie of the Month for both of the first two months of the season since Ricky Rubio and Kyrie Irving in 2012. Here's where it gets particularly interesting. The combo before that to win the first three months in each of the conferences?
LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony, who both swept the entire season, winning Eastern and Western Rookie of the Month respectively each month in 2003-04. They're the only pair in NBA history to do so. Why would this possibly matter? Because it means that the rookies are playing at a higher level. It already appears that this rookie class is the strongest we've seen since 2009 -- maybe even further back -- and if Towns and Porzingis both win ROM every month from now until the end of the season? It's only going to bolster the intensity over who should win Rookie of the Year. Something special is brewing, and this meaningless award might give us some proof of exactly how special it is.
source:cbssports
