NEW YORK – Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers is the recipient of the Eddie Gottlieb Trophy as the 2012-13 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year, the NBA announced today. Lillard was a unanimous selection, having totaled 605 points as he received all 121 first-place votes from a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers was the last unanimous selection (2010-11).

The New Orleans Hornets’ Anthony Davis finished second with 306 points and the Washington Wizards’ Bradley Beal finished third with 94 points. Players were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote.

Among first-year players, Lillard ranked first in scoring (19.0 ppg), assists (6.5 apg) and minutes (38.6 mpg).

According to NBA.com/Stats, the Trail Blazers had an offensive rating of 105.0 points (per 100 possessions) when Lillard was on the court compared with 93.5 points (per 100 possesions) when the first-year player was on the bench. When on the court, Lillard assisted on 36.5 percent of Portland’s field goals while scoring 23.9 percent of his team’s points.

Lillard, the sixth overall selection in the 2012 NBA Draft, made a clean sweep of the Kia NBA Rookie of the Month Award in the Western Conference this season. He set an NBA rookie record by making 185 three-point field goals, surpassing the 166 triples made by Golden State’s Stephen Curry during his 2009-10 rookie campaign.

As part of its support of the Rookie of the Year Award, Kia Motors America (KMA) will donate a new 2014 Kia Sorento LX CUV to LifeWorks Northwest, a leading non-profit, community-based prevention, mental health and addiction agency committed to supporting a healthy community in the greater Portland metro-area. Kia Motors will present a Sorento to the charity of choice of each of five 2012-13 season-end award winners as part of “The Kia NBA Performance Awards.” Following this season, Kia Motors will have donated a total of 26 new vehicles to charitable organizations since its support of the NBA’s prestigious season-end honors began in 2008.

The 2012-13 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year Award is part of a series of on-court performance awards called “The Kia NBA Performance Awards.” The series, currently in its sixth season, is part of a multiyear marketing partnership between KMA and the NBA, and included five of the league’s most prestigious year-end honors: Most Valuable Player Award, Defensive Player of the Year, Sixth Man Award, Most Improved Player Award, and Rookie of the Year.  For the first time, the series also includes the Kia NBA Eastern and Western Conference Rookies of the Month during the regular season.  Kia Motors is the Official Automotive Partner of the NBA and the Kia Optima is the league’s Official Vehicle.  For more information on “The Kia NBA Performance Awards” visit NBA.com/Awards.

The Eddie Gottlieb Trophy is named in honor of Eddie Gottlieb, one of the NBA’s founders who coached the Philadelphia Warriors to the NBA championship in 1946-47.

Attached are the voting results for the 2012-13 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year Award and the all-time list of winners. The balloting was tabulated by the independent accounting firm of Ernst & Young LLP.

2012-13 KIA NBA ROOKIE OF THE YEAR AWARD VOTING RESULTS

Rookie, Team                               1^st           2^nd          3^rd           Total

Damian Lillard, Portland             121         —             —             605

Anthony Davis, New Orleans        —             96           18           306

Bradley Beal, Washington             —             14           52           94

Andre Drummond, Detroit             —             5             21           36

Dion Waiters, Cleveland                —             2             15           21

Harrison Barnes, Golden State       —             1             5             8

Chris Copeland, New York            —             2             2             8

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Charlotte  —             —             3             3

Jonas Valanciunas, Toronto           —             —             2             2

John Jenkins, Atlanta                     —             —             1             1

Following is the all-time list of winners:

ALL-TIME KIA NBA ROOKIE OF THE YEAR AWARD WINNERS

1952-53 – Don Meineke, Fort Wayne
1953-54 – Ray Felix, Baltimore
1954-55 – Bob Pettit, Milwaukee
1955-56 – Maurice Stokes, Rochester
1956-57 – Tom Heinsohn, Boston
1957-58 – Woody Sauldsberry, Philadelphia
1958-59 – Elgin Baylor, Minneapolis
1959-60 – Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia
1960-61 – Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati
1961-62 – Walt Bellamy, Chicago
1962-63 – Terry Dischinger, Chicago
1963-64 – Jerry Lucas, Cincinnati
1964-65 – Willis Reed, New York
1965-66 – Rick Barry, San Francisco
1966-67 – Dave Bing, Detroit
1967-68 – Earl Monroe, Baltimore
1968-69 – Wes Unseld, Baltimore
1969-70 – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Milwaukee
1970-71 – Dave Cowens, Boston (tie)
– Geoff Petrie, Portland (tie)
1971-72 – Sidney Wicks, Portland
1972-73 – Bob McAdoo, Buffalo
1973-74 – Ernie DiGregorio, Buffalo
1974-75 – Keith Wilkes, Golden State
1975-76 – Alvan Adams, Phoenix
1976-77 – Adrian Dantley, Buffalo
1977-78 – Walter Davis, Phoenix
1978-79 – Phil Ford, Kansas City
1979-80 – Larry Bird, Boston
1980-81 – Darrell Griffith, Utah
1981-82 – Buck Williams, New Jersey
1982-83 – Terry Cummings, San Diego
1983-84 – Ralph Sampson, Houston
1984-85 – Michael Jordan, Chicago
1985-86 – Patrick Ewing, New York
1986-87 – Chuck Person, Indiana
1987-88 – Mark Jackson, New York
1988-89 – Mitch Richmond, Golden State
1989-90 – David Robinson, San Antonio
1990-91 – Derrick Coleman, New Jersey
1991-92 – Larry Johnson, Charlotte
1992-93 – Shaquille O’Neal, Orlando
1993-94 – Chris Webber, Golden State
1994-95 – Grant Hill, Detroit (tie)
– Jason Kidd, Dallas (tie)
1995-96 – Damon Stoudamire, Toronto
1996-97 – Allen Iverson, Philadelphia
1997-98 – Tim Duncan, San Antonio
1998-99 – Vince Carter, Toronto
1999-00 – Elton Brand, Chicago (tie)
– Steve Francis, Houston (tie)
2000-01 – Mike Miller, Orlando
2001-02 – Pau Gasol, Memphis
2002-03 – Amar’e Stoudemire, Phoenix
2003-04 – LeBron James, Cleveland
2004-05 – Emeka Okafor, Charlotte
2005-06 – Chris Paul, New Orleans/Okla. City
2006-07 – Brandon Roy, Portland
2007-08 – Kevin Durant, Seattle
2008-09 -Derrick Rose, Chicago
2009-10 –Tyreke Evans, Sacramento
2010-11 –Blake Griffin, Los Angeles Clippers
2011-12 –Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers
2012-13 – Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers

About Kia Motors America
Kia Motors America is the marketing and distribution arm of Kia Motors Corporation based in Seoul, South Korea. KMA offers a complete line of vehicles through more than 765 dealers throughout the United States and serves as the “Official Automotive Partner” of the NBA.  In 2012, KMA recorded its best-ever annual sales total and gained U.S. market share for the 18th consecutive year.  Kia is poised to continue its momentum and will continue to build the brand through design innovation, quality, value, advanced safety features and new technologies.

Information about Kia Motors America and its full vehicle line-up is available at its website – www.kia.com. For media information, including photography, visit www.kiamedia.com.