This page is dedicated to the NBA Rookie of the Year (ROY) Award in Rewritten Rings. While some winners mirror real NBA history, many do not.
With Michael Jordan removed from the 1984 Draft, the league's future changed dramatically, giving different rookies the opportunity to shine and altering the careers of countless NBA stars.
Our inaugural season was 1983-84, and the first Rookie of the Year was Ralph Sampson, just as it was in real life. However, that's where the similarities end.
Instead of battling career-altering injuries, Sampson enjoys a long and successful career in the Rewritten Rings universe, eventually winning two NBA championships alongside Karl Malone with the Houston Rockets.
The 1984-85 season is where history truly begins to diverge. With no Michael Jordan in the draft, the Rookie of the Year race was wide open despite featuring future stars like Akeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley, and John Stockton.
Surprisingly, none of them claimed the award. Instead, Alvin Robertson earned Rookie of the Year honors. Years later he joins Sampson and the Rockets helping them capture back-to-back championships in the early 1990s.
In 1985-86, we return to familiar territory as Patrick Ewing wins Rookie of the Year, just as he did in reality. His career, however, follows a very different path.
Rather than beginning with the New York Knicks, Ewing starts his career with the Chicago Bulls. While he and his real-life Knicks became perennial contenders throughout the 1990s.
Ewing has not advanced beyond the first round since 1988 in our universe and, by the end of the 1999 season, is playing for the Los Angeles Lakers after a stop in Houston the year before.
History changes again in 1986-87 when Brad Daugherty of the New York Knicks wins Rookie of the Year. In reality, the award went to Chuck Person of the Indiana Pacers.
In our universe, Person is selected second overall by the Atlanta Hawks, while Daugherty goes third and ultimately outperforms him to claim the award.
Daugherty later reaches two Conference Finals and one NBA Finals with the Portland Trail Blazers, an achievement he never experienced during his real NBA career.
The 1987-88 season marks another major change as David Robinson immediately enters the NBA and wins Rookie of the Year. Unlike real life, where military service delayed his debut until 1989-90.
Here Robinson begins his career right away after being drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers. By the end of the 1999 season, he has already led Cleveland to its first NBA championship in 1993, returned to the Finals in 1998, and captured two league MVP awards, surpassing his single real-life MVP.
The surprises continue in 1988-89, when Danny Manning of the New York Knicks takes home Rookie of the Year. In reality, Mitch Richmond won the award. Through the end of the 1999 season, Manning remains with the Knicks and has helped lead the franchise to three Conference Semifinal appearances and one Conference Final.
The 1989-90 season was always going to be different since Robinson was no longer a rookie here. Instead, Pervis Ellison wins Rookie of the Year with the Miami Heat. The arrival of two-time NBA champion Clyde Drexler helps transform the Heat's culture and may have played a key role in Ellison's early development.
The Heat make it back-to-back Rookie of the Year winners in 1990-91 as Lionel Simmons captures the award. Simmons is thrust into the starting lineup after Ellison suffers an injury, helping Miami earn the No. 2 seed, the best regular season in franchise history to that point. Selected 11th overall, Simmons edges out Derrick Coleman, who won the award in real life.
In 1991-92, Billy Owens of the Indiana Pacers wins Rookie of the Year over Larry Johnson, who earned the honor in reality. Playing alongside veteran Chris Mullin provides Owens with valuable leadership as he develops into one of Indiana's rising stars.
The 1992-93 season brings us back in line with reality as Shaquille O'Neal wins Rookie of the Year with the Orlando Magic. Unlike real life, however, Shaq remains with Orlando and is still there at the end of the 1999 season and has already led the franchise to two NBA championships.
Our 1993-94 Rookie of the Year also matches reality as Chris Webber takes home the award, but his career begins in Boston instead of Golden State after the Celtics acquire the second overall pick through a blockbuster trade.
Webber spends his early years playing alongside Shawn Kemp and Larry Bird. Through the end of the 1999 season, he remains a member of the Celtics, with the Conference Semifinals marking the team's deepest playoff run.
History changes again in 1994-95, as Glenn Robinson of the San Antonio Spurs wins Rookie of the Year instead of Grant Hill and Jason Kidd, who shared the award in real life.
Kidd is still selected first overall in this universe, but it is "Big Dog" Robinson who claims the trophy. Robinson remains with San Antonio and reached two Conference Finals after Karl Malone joined the franchise.
The 1995-96 Rookie of the Year race belongs to Toronto, but it isn't Damon Stoudamire as it was in reality. Instead, Antonio McDyess, selected fifth overall by the Raptors, earns the honor. Stoudamire was drafted higher at second overall by the Detroit Pistons, but it is McDyess that won it at the end.
Toronto repeats in 1996-97 as Allen Iverson wins Rookie of the Year after being selected first overall by the Raptors. Iverson claimed the award in the real NBA despite an outstanding draft class, and he does it here too.
The 1997-98 season once again mirrors reality as Tim Duncan earns Rookie of the Year honors. The difference is that Duncan begins his career with the Los Angeles Lakers instead of the San Antonio Spurs, joining a young core that already includes Stephon Marbury.
Finally, Vince Carter closes out the decade by winning Rookie of the Year in 1998-99. Just as in reality, Carter claims the award, but this time he does so with the Utah Jazz after being selected first overall. Despite landing 2 No. 1 overall picks in the recent pass in Jason Kidd and Vince Carter, Utah is still unable to reach the playoffs.
This is where the Rewritten Rings simulation currently stands. As new seasons are completed, this page will be updated with future Rookie of the Year winners while the profiles of current winners continue to grow as their careers unfold. Be sure to check back as the history of the league continues to be rewritten.
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