O.J. Mayo wins rookie of month, but Grizzlies lose lottery drawing to Minnesota

La Bomba · Apr 18, 2009

O.J. Mayo's strong finish to his rookie season garnered NBA recognition, but the Grizzlies' offseason got off to a bad start.

Mayo received the Western Conference Rookie of the Month award Friday when the Griz also learned that they lost a random drawing to break a tie with the Minnesota Timberwolves

The tie-breaker determined draft order, so the Griz are slotted sixth, giving them 75 out of 1,000 lottery combinations. Minnesota will have one more (76) combination when the draft lottery unfolds May 19.

Meanwhile, Mayo picked up the April honor after leading all rookies in scoring (18.5 ppg) and minutes (38.1 mpg) for the season. The 6-4 guard finished his first season ranked in the top 10 among rookies in scoring, assists, field goal percentage, three-point field goal percentage, free throw percentage, steals and minutes.

Mayo also set franchise rookie records for points in a season and minutes played. He became the first NBA rookie since Tim Duncan in 1997-98 to play in all 82 games and average more than 38 minutes per game.

Although informal polls show Mayo trailing Chicago point guard and former University of Memphis star Derrick Rose in Rookie of the Year balloting, he set the season rookie franchise record for free throw percentage (.879), three-point field goal percentage (.384) and field goals made (562).

The Miami Heat's Michael Beasley won the Rookie of the Month award for the Eastern Conference. Beasley posted three consecutive double-doubles this month.
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http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/apr/17/oj-mayo-wins-rookie-month-grizzlies-lose-lottery-d/

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O.J. Mayo wins rookie of month, but Grizzlies lose lottery drawing to Minnesota

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O.J. Mayo wins rookie of month, but Grizzlies lose lottery drawing to Minnesota

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