Don’t look now, but there’s a new candidate to win the Rookie of the Year award this season.

Since the first month of the season concluded most NBA fans and members of the media have assumed that Derrick Rose had the award locked up. And why not? The talented point guard averaged 18.9 points and 6.1 assists in November. Rose hasn’t faltered during the course of the season and is currently averaging 16.5 points and 6.5 assists while starting on a team fighting for a spot in the playoffs.

It’s hard to argue against Rose, but fans and journalists love a good story so names such as O.J. Mayo, Brook Lopez and Russell Westrbrook have started to enter the discussion as possible candidates for Rookie of the Year, yet few people think those players have a chance of stealing the award from the grasp of Rose.

But what about Eric Gordon? He’s quietly putting up impressive numbers for the Los Angeles Clippers while becoming one of the building blocks for their future alongside Al Thornton.

Gordon, the Western Conference Rookie of the Month for January, is the leading scorer among all rookies since January 1, 2009 with 20.2 points. During that same time frame, Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook is averaging 17.8 points, Memphis guard O.J. Mayo is averaging 17.1 points and Chicago’s Rose is averaging 15.8 points.

While Mayo and Rose have enjoyed the benefit of starting from the beginning of the NBA season, while Gordon was eased into the Clipper starting five. In the 52 games that Gordon has started so far this season he is averaging 18.5 points, 2.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists while shooting 46 percent from the field and 38 percent from three-point land.

Contrast this with the first 13 games of the year when Gordon came off the bench and only averaged 4.5 points, 1.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists in 13.6 minutes per game.

“Since he’s been put in the starting line-up his numbers are as good or better than anybody in the league, particularly any rookie,” Clippers head coach Mike Dunleavy bragged to Hoops Addict. “He does everything. He goes to the rim, he finishes, he shoots three’s, he shoots a high percentage and he can make plays.”

While most rookies would have a sense of bravado and inflated ego after such an impressive rookie season, Gordon doesn’t have even a trace of that.

Instead, the humble guard tried to deflect any kudos from the media.

“I’ve just had more opportunities,” a modest Gordon told Hoops Addict when asked about his solid play since January. “A lot of guys were hurt and I had to pick it up somehow to get this team some more wins. I just try to be a playmaker and I have confidence I can help this team.”

Besides being humble, a big part of the reason for Gordon’s success is his incredible work ethic. When he was in Toronto this past weekend he was on the court at 1:30, a full two hours before the opening tip.

While many fans might brush this off as a rookie just being a professional, keep in mind that means he was on the court by 10:30 Pacific Time which means he was up way beyond when he’d ideally like to be rolling out of a bed on a Sunday morning.

Not only that, but he was the first Clipper on the court by a good half hour.

“He’s a real great kid and he’s got a great appetite for learning and getting better,” Dunleavy boasted to Hoops Addict. “He’s very quiet but he just gets better and better all the time. You’re entire first year is an education. Early on this season he was playing behind Cuttino Mobley and it’s not like he was playing behind some schlep.  He had to earn his way in where some of the other rookies were drafted for that position and were given big minutes.”

It’s one thing to earn a spot and show a great work ethic, it’s another thing when all that comes together on the court. Gordon is peaking when his peers hit the proverbial “rookie wall” and he was named the Western Conference Rookie of the month in January after ranking first among rookies in scoring (21.9 points), fourth in assists (4.1) and first in minutes (41.1).

Gordon scored a career-high 41 points in a game against Oklahoma City on January 23, the most points ever scored by a Clippers rookie, eclipsing Al Thornton’s 39-point performance on March 29, 2008.

It will be interesting to see how the remaining few weeks play out and if voters still have an open mind about who they will vote for. If they do, Gordon needs to be in the discussion as only a handful of serious candidates to win the Rookie of the Year Award this season.