CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Emeka Okafor won the NBA's Rookie of the Year award.

The Charlotte Bobcats' Okafor became the first former college player to win the award in four years. Cleveland's LeBron James and Phoenix center Amare Stoudemire, who both jumped from high school to the NBA, were the last two winners of the rookie award.

Memphis forward Pau Gasol, who won in 2002, played professionally in Spain before coming to the NBA.

Okafor led all rookies in scoring (15.1 points a game) and rebounding (10.9 rpg) and was second in his class behind Atlanta's Josh Smith in blocks (1.71). He also ranked second in the NBA with 3.8 offensive rebounds a game.

Okafor received 77 of the 126 first-place votes from a media panel. He finished with 514 points while Chicago Bulls guard Ben Gordon, Okafor's teammate and roommate at the University of Connecticut, was second with 433 points.

NEW YORK - Memphis' Jason Williams was fined $10,000 by the NBA for improper conduct toward members of the media following the Grizzlies' playoff loss to Phoenix.After the Suns swept the Grizzlies in their opening-round series on Sunday, Williams, angered over how he was quoted in a newspaper column, grabbed the pen out of a writer's hand in the Memphis locker room.

SNELLVILLE, Ga. - South Gwinnett High School standout Louis Williams said he will enter the NBA draft instead of attending the University of Georgia.Williams, the Naismith Trophy High School Player of the Year, announced his decision at his high school. He protected his amateur status by not hiring an agent.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Bellamy Road, owned by George Steinbrenner and trained by Nick Zito, was made the 5-2 favorite for Saturday's Kentucky Derby.Afleet Alex was the 9-2 second choice.Bellamy Road will be ridden by Javier Castellano and leave from the No. 16 post.The No. 16 post has worked well in the last 10 years, producing three Derby winners - Thunder Gulch in 1995, Charismatic in 1999 and Monarchos in 2001.A full field of 20 3-year-olds was entered for the 1 1/4-mile race, with Bandini the third choice at 6-1, followed by High Fly, the second of Zito's five Derby horses, at 8-1.Zito's other horses are Noble Causeway at 12-1; Sun King at 15-1; and Andromeda's Hero at 50-1.