Wembanyama, Podziemski Among Top NBA Rookies to Watch Saturday
The 2023 NBA Draft class (with the addition of Chet Holmgren) continues to wow on a nightly basis, living up to the hype set months ago.
Victor Wembanyama and Holmgren lead the pack as titanic seven-footers, but there's plenty of players who were selected in the teens, twenties and even further who are making an impact.
Here are a few of the top rookies to watch on Saturday night's NBA schedule:
Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs
After a slower start to the year than some anticipated — and still, one of the better all-time for a rookie on several fronts — Wembanyama is finally living up to lofty pre-season expectations.
In 14 January games, he scored 19.7 points, came down with 9.6 boards, dished 3.3 assists and matched that with 3.3 blocks per game.
Tonight, at 5 p.m. CT, he’ll face a tough test in Nicolas Claxton and the Brooklyn Nets.
Brandin Podziemski, Golden State Warriors
Podziemski has been one of the bigger rookie surprises so far this season — but not for those who were able to catch his Santa Clara tape.
In 43 games so far for Golden State, he’s scored 9.5 points and boasts a 3.7 to 1.2 assist-to-turnover ratio. Even better, he’s shooting an efficient 46% overall and is grabbing an elite 5.7 rebounds for a guard.
Tonight, the Warriors have a tall task in Western Conference rival Phoenix, and they’ll need all they can get from “Air Podz” at 7:30 p.m. CT.
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