Lakers’ Jordan Clarkson named to NBA’s All-Rookie First team

The Lakers’ Jordan Clarkson, who scored a game-high 26 points, goes up for a shot. matt slocum – the associated press

The Lakers’ Jordan Clarkson, who scored a game-high 26 points, goes up for a shot. matt slocum – the associated press

Within one season, Lakers guard Jordan Clarkson morphed from a second-round afterthought into one of the league’s best rookies.

Clarkson was named on Monday to the NBA’s All-Rookie First team, joining Minnesota’s Andrew Wiggins, Chicago’s Nikola Mirotic, Philadelphia’s Nerlens Noel and Orland’s Elfrid Payton as determined by select NBA writers and broadcasters (Full disclosure: I voted for all the aforementioned players). Clarkson became the 11th Lakers player to earn a spot on the NBA’s all-rookie first team, a list that also includes Lakers coach Byron Scott, Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Elgin Baylor, Eddie Jones, Vlade Divac, Norm Nixon, Jim Price, Dick Garrett and Bill Hewitt.

Clarkson averaged 11.9 points on 44.8 percent shooting and 3.5 assists. But those numbers do not account for Clarkson sitting in 23 of the first 43 games sitting on the bench because of his inexperience. Once Kobe Bryant suffered a season-ending injury to his right shoulder in late January, Clarkson became the starting point guard over Jeremy Lin and Ronnie Price. Clarkson then averaged 15.8 points on 45.8 percent shooting, five assists and 4.2 rebounds in 32.1 minutes through 38 games as a starter. Clarkson also earned NBA Western Conference Rookie of the Month in March. Overall, Clarkson finished second among rookies in points per game (11.9), third in assists per game (3.6) and free throw percentage (.829), fourth in field goal percentage (.448), and 13th in rebounds per game (3.2).

The Lakers plan to retain Clarkson on a non-guaranteed deal for next season worth 845,059 and will play on the team’s summer league team. But it currently remains uncertain if the Lakers will still bolster their point guard spot either through the NBA draft (Emmanuel Mudiay, D’Angelo Russell) or free agency (Goran Dragic, Rajon Rondo). Either way, the Lakers like Clarkson’s work ethic, athleticism and scoring abilities. In Clarkson’s exit meetings, both Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak and Scott instructed Clarkson to focus on adding muscle to his 6’5, 185-pound frame, studying elite point guards, strengthening his playmaking and defense and learning how to become a leader.

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Follow L.A. Daily News Lakers beat writer Mark Medina on Twitter and on Facebook. E-mail him at mark.medina@langnews.com