Malachi Flynn first Raptors player in eight years named rookie of the month

Thankfully, Malachi Flynn is a better basketball player than he is a singer.

The 22-year-old rookie has achieved something that no Toronto Raptors player has done in eight years.

The NBA announced today that Flynn has been named Eastern Conference rookie of the month for April. That makes Flynn just the ninth player in Raptors franchise history to earn the honour and the first since Jonas Valanciunas in March 2013.

Other Raptors that have earned rookie of the month honours include Damon Stoudamire, Marcus Camby, Vince Carter, Charlie Villanueva, Jorge Garbajosa, Andrea Bargnani, and Jamario Moon.

The 2020 first-round pick started eight of the Raptors’ 15 games in April, helping the team to an 8-7 record. The native of Tacoma, Washington, averaged 12.7 points, 4.8 assists, 4.1 rebounds, 28.3 minutes, and shot .408 (29-for-71) from three-point range.

Flynn set a career-high in points (22) on April 13 against the Atlanta Hawks, and had the first double-double of his career on April 10, when he scored 20 points and 11 assists against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

After being used sparingly through most of the first half of the season, Flynn saw his average minutes double from March (14.0) to April (28.3).

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