Spurs guard Gary Neal was fifth in final balloting for the NBA’s 2010-11 T-Mobile Rookie of the Year award.
Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin was the unanimous choice of the 118 media members who voted for the poll.
Washington guard John Wall was second in voting and Sacramento center DeMarcus Cousins was third.
Neal’s strong finish is particularly because he was an undrafted free agent who spent three seasons in Europe after his college career at LaSalle and Towson State. His season was capped by his game-tying 3-pointer at the end of regulation which helped catapult the Spurs to a Game 5 victory over Memphis in the playoffs last week.
David Robinson (1990) and Tim Duncan (1998) are the only Spurs to previously win the NBA’s Rookie of the Year honors. Griffin is the first unanimous selection since Robinson.
Here’s a look at the final balloting released Wednesday by the NBA.