SEATTLE — Kevin Durant of the Seattle SuperSonics has been chosen as the NBA Rookie of Year, The Associated Press has learned.

The person with knowledge of the vote requested anonymity because the official announcement has not been made.

The honor was first reported by The Seattle Times in today's editions.

The announcement is expected to become official on Thursday.

Durant was the SuperSonics leading scorer, living up to the lofty expectations placed on him after being the national college player of the year at Texas and the No. 2 overall pick in June's draft.

Durant beat out the other two top contenders — Atlanta's Al Horford and Houston's Luis Scola.