Minnesota Timberwolves' Karl-Anthony Towns unanimous Rookie of Year

Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns, who set franchise rookie records in scoring, rebounding, blocked shots and field-goal percentage, has unanimously won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award, the league announced Monday.

The 7-foot Towns becomes the fifth unanimous winner since 1984 and joins teammate Andrew Wiggins, the 2014-15 honoree, to make the Timberwolves the first team with back-to-back winners in 42 years.

Towns received all 130 first-place votes (650 points) from a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters in the United States and Canada, joining Damian Lillard (2012-13 season), Blake Griffin (2010-11), David Robinson (1989-90) and Ralph Sampson (1983-84) as unanimous winners in the last 32 years.

New York Knicks forward Kristaps Porzingis finished second with 363 points and Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic was third with 59 points.

Towns, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 draft, led all rookies in scoring (18.3 points) and rebounding (10.5, eighth in the NBA) and ranked second in blocks (1.68, 10th in the NBA. He also ranked third in the NBA in double-doubles (51) and eighth in field-goal percentage (54.2). Towns was one of six players in the league to start all 82 games.

Towns was named Western Conference rookie of the month in all six months the award was handed out. The Timberwolves finished with a 29-53 record and failed to reach the playoffs, but won 13 more games than they did the previous season.

The Timberwolves are the first team with consecutive top rookie winners since the Buffalo Braves in 1972-73 (Bob McAdoo) and 1973-74 (Ernie DiGregorio).

The 20-year-old Towns receives the Eddie Gottlieb Trophy, which is named in honor of one of the NBA's founders. Gottlieb coached the Philadelphia Warriors to the NBA's first championship, in 1946-47.

The 2015-16 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, in its ninth season, is part of a multiyear marketing partnership between Kia Motors and the NBA.