Rookie Power Rankings: Where's Spurs' Victor Wembanyama?
SAN ANTONIO — The NBA's Rookie of the Year race might be far from decided, but Victor Wembanyama continues to make a strong case for taking home hardware.
He's been near the top — if not at it — all season long between his unique scoring ability and advantageous height. It's made for a relatively easy time on offense and a seemingly easier time on defense, and neither has gone unnoticed.
That's why Yahoo Sports put the San Antonio Spurs rookie atop their rankings heading into the back few games of the first half of the season.
"Wembanyama became the sixth player in NBA history to reach 100 career blocks in his first 35 games Sunday night when he recorded five blocks in a close loss to the Cavaliers," the site wrote. "[And] in the game before, he went head-to-head with Giannis Antetokounmpo and gained the respect of one of the league's best players."
Jan 7, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) reacts in the fourth quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
© David Richard, USA TODAY
Despite the Spurs accruing losses throughout the season, Wembanyama has shined as a consistent frontman. Entering the year, that's what was expected, and early on, it seemed that's how it would go.
Thirty-eight points against the Phoenix Suns and numerous four-block performances were the early indicators of Wembanyama's talent, but a lack of consistency kept him from being a no-brainer pick for Rookie of the Year. As the Spurs have progressed, however, he's begun to find a groove and with it, consistency.
Over his last five games, the rookie has averaged 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 4.4 blocks — all of which are team-leading stats. One of those games included a win over Scoot Henderson and the Portland Trail Blazers and another against the Milwaukee Bucks, which despite being a loss for the home-team Spurs, was a strong showing against a player Wembanyama described as "one of the best players in the world."
"Wembanyama ... continues to exceed all expectations coming into the league," Yahoo! Sports concluded. "[He] leads all rookies in blocks, points per game and rebounds."
His stats alone make him a top prospect for the annual first-year award at the end of the season, but his recent successes have surpassed even that, and as it stands — wins or not — the Spurs are certainly reaping the benefits of his play.
And now, he's reaping the benefits, too. In the form of potential awards.
