[Tommy]

Charlotte, NC (Sports Network) - Charlotte Bobcats forward Emeka Okafor has been named 2005 NBA Rookie of the Year.

Okafor narrowly edged Chicago's Ben Gordon for the honor, despite the fact that Gordon helped lead the Bulls to the playoffs for the first time since Michael Jordan guided the club to the NBA title in 1998.

The 22-year-old Okafor and Gordon played together at the University of Connecticut, where the two men were best friends and helped lead the Huskies to the 2004 national championship.

Okafor, who was the second overall pick in last year's NBA Draft, had a terrific season for the expansion Bobcats. He averaged 15.1 points and 10.9 rebounds per game, while also ranking second among all first-year players in blocks by posting 1.7 per contest.

"Today is a terrific day for Emeka Okafor and the Charlotte Bobcats organization. Emeka is very deserving of the Rookie of the Year award," Bobcats General Manager & Head Coach Bernie Bickerstaff said. "He is a young man who led all rookies in minutes, scoring and rebounding and did it all while being in traffic down in the paint. This is a great honor and something that can never be taken away."

The 6-10 Okafor was a three-time winner of the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month Award (November, December, April) and also had a string of 19 consecutive double-doubles from November 21 to January 1, which was the longest such streak by any NBA player in 2004-05. Okafor's string is the longest by a rookie since 12-time NBA All-Star Elvin Hayes registered 60 straight double-doubles during the 1968-69 campaign.

On the season, Okafor had 47 double-doubles and guided Charlotte to 18 wins in its first campaign.

"It's an honor to win the Rookie of the Year with such other talented candidates," said Okafor. "This is an award that every rookie strives to get and it means a lot to me. I wouldn't have been able to reach this level without the contributions of my coaches and teammates. It was a fun season and I look forward to many more good times with the Charlotte Bobcats."

He became just the third player to win the award from an expansion team and the first since Damon Stoudamire (Toronto) accomplished the feat following the 1995-96 season.

Okafor received a total of 514 points, which included 77 out of a possible 126 first-place votes. Gordon finished with 443 points and 43 first-place votes, while Dwight Howard, the No. 1 overall pick in last year's draft, was a distant third and received 161 total votes.

Gordon, who became the first rookie to ever win the Sixth Man of the Year Award when he was named top reserve on Tuesday, averaged 15.1 points and 2.6 boards per outing this season. Gordon, the third overall pick in the 2004 draft, poured in double-digit points 21 times in the fourth quarter this season, which ranked third in the entire league.

Cleveland Cavaliers superstar guard LeBron James was named the 2004 Rookie of the Year.


05/04 14:45:26 ET

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