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A'ja Wilson earns WNBA Rookie of the Year honors

A'ja Wilson was mobbed by her USA Basketball teammates after practice when they were told she was the WNBA Rookie of the Year.

She won in a landslide as the unanimous choice. Wilson received all 39 votes from a national media panel.

"It means a lot with that rookie class," Wilson said. "There are so many great players."

The No. 1 pick in the draft this past April averaged 20.7 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.7 blocks for Las Vegas.

She had the second-highest scoring average for a rookie in league history, trailing only Seimone Augustus' 21.9 points in 2006.

Wilson is the second consecutive former Gamecock to win the award. Allisha Gray of Dallas won it last season.

"Everyone in America knows she was rookie of the year," Wilson's former coach Dawn Staley said.

Wilson scored in double figures in every game and had the Aces in the hunt for a playoff berth until the final weekend of the season.

She is currently playing with the U.S. national team and is in the mix to make the World Cup team.

Wilson headlined the league's All-Rookie team. She was joined by Ariel Atkins of Washington and Diamond DeShields of Chicago, who were both unanimous choices as well. Azura Stevens of Dallas and Kelsey Mitchell of Indiana rounded out the team.

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Follow Doug Feinberg on Twitter at https://twitter.com/DougFeinberg

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