INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving drove past defenders with ease all season.

It was no different in voting for rookie of the year.

Irving, who played beyond his years and above everyone's expectations including his own, was chosen the NBA's Rookie of the Year on Tuesday, winning an award he always believed was within reach.

"It was a goal of mine," he said. "I knew as long as we won some games and beat some great team that it was going to come."

Irving received 117 of 120 possible first-place votes from a nationwide media panel of writers and broadcasters. Irving finished with 592 points, way ahead of Minnesota's Ricky Rubio (170) and Denver's Kenneth Faried (129).

Faried, San Antonio's Kawhi Leonard and New York's Iman Shumpert received the other first-place votes, denying Irving's bid to become the fourth player to win the award unanimously.

The 20-year-old is the second Cleveland player to win the award, joining LeBron James in 2004.

The No. 1 overall pick in last year's draft was clearly the league's top first-year player, leading all rookies -- and the Cavs -- in scoring with 18.5 points per game. He also led all rookies in field-goal percentage (46.8), was second in assists (5.4) and became one of just six rookies in league history to average at least 18 points and five assists.

However, it was the other elements of his game -- a nasty crossover dribble, a fearless desire to get to the basket, and a clutch, cold-blooded instinct in the fourth quarter that separated him from the others.

During a sometimes funny and emotional acceptance speech, Irving credited his father, Drederick, and his late mother, Elizabeth, for raising him. He donated a car given to him by Kia for winning the award to the New Jersey Roadrunners, his former AAU team.

Irving, who played only 11 games at Duke because of a toe injury before turning pro, regularly took over games down the stretch for the Cavaliers. He kept them competitive and in the playoff race until mid-March, when the team's front office decided to build for the future by trading his backup, guard Ramon Sessions, to the Los Angeles Lakers for a first-round draft pick.