NEW YORK – Kyrie Irving is the recipient of the Eddie Gottlieb Trophy as the 2011-12 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year, the NBA announced today. Irving totaled 592 points and received 117 first-place votes from a panel of 120 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada.

Minnesota’s Ricky Rubio finished second with 170 points and Denver’s Kenneth Faried finished third with 129 points (one first-place vote). 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, Irving ranked first in scoring (18.5 ppg), field goal percentage (.469) and free throw percentage (.872), while placing second in assists (5.4 apg) and three-point field goal percentage (.399). Among all players, Irving ranked tied for fourth in fourth-quarter scoring (6.4 ppg) while shooting .518 from the field, .410 from beyond the arc and .868 from the charity stripe.

The top selection in the 2011 NBA Draft, Irving joins Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson, Allen Iverson and, LeBron James as the only No. 1 overall draft picks to average at least 18.0 points and 5.0 assists. In addition, he is one of only six rookies in league history to average at least 18.0 points, 5.0 assists, and 1.0 steal while shooting at least .450 from the field, joining Johnson, Jordan, Alvan Adams, Grant Hill, and Tyreke Evans.

Irving was a three-time winner of the NBA’s Rookie of the Month Award, for games played in December/January, February and March. Irving was named MVP of the BVAA Rising Stars Challenge at NBA All-Star 2012 by scoring 34 points, including going 8-for-8 from beyond the three-point line, and dishing a game-high nine assists.

As part of its support of the Rookie of the Year Award, Kia Motors America will donate a new Kia Sorento CUV to the New Jersey Roadrunners, Kyrie Irving’s former AAU program.  Kia Motors will present a brand new Sorento to the charity of choice of each of five 2011-12 year-end award winners as part of the “The Kia NBA Performance Awards.”  Following this season, Kia Motors will have donated a total of 21 new vehicles to charitable organizations since its support of the NBA’s prestigious year-end honors began with the 2007-2008 season.

For the first time, the 2011-12 Kia NBA Rookie of the Award is part of a series of on-court performance awards called “The Kia NBA Performance Awards.” The series, currently in its fifth season, is a significant part of the multiyear marketing partnership between Kia Motors America and the NBA, and also includes the Most Improved Player, Defensive Player, Sixth Man, Most Valuable Player of the Year Awards.  It also includes the Kia NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month, which are awarded during the regular season.  For more information on the “The Kia NBA Performance Awards” visit www.NBA.com/performanceawards.

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 2011-12 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.

2011-12 KIA NBA ROOKIE OF THE YEAR AWARD VOTING RESULTS

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

Kyrie Irving, Cleveland                 117          2             1             592

Ricky Rubio, Minnesota                       –              49           23           170

Kenneth Faried, Denver                   1             30           34           129

Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio          1             9             15           47

Iman Shumpert, New York             1             7             7             33

Klay Thompson, Golden State         –              5             15           30

Isaiah Thomas, Sacramento             –              6             10           28

Brandon Knight, Detroit                    –              6             3            21

Chandler Parsons, Houston             –              3             5             14

MarShon Brooks, New Jersey          –              1             1             4

Kemba Walker, Charlotte                –              –              3             3

Josh Selby, Memphis                       –              –              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

About Kia Motors America
Kia Motors America (KMA) 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 730 dealers throughout the United States and serves as the “Official Automotive Partner of the NBA.” In 2010, KMA recorded its best-ever U.S. sales and 16th consecutive year of increased U.S. market share. Kia is poised to continue its momentum and will continue to build the brand through design innovation, quality, value, safety features and new technologies.

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