San Antonio Spurs' Victor Wembanyama vs. Oklahoma City Thunder's Chet Holmgren: Who's No. 1 in Rookie Rankings?
One was picked second overall last year. One was picked first overall this year. Both tower over everyone else, and both are somehow rookies.
Victor Wembanyama has been making headlines for the San Antonio Spurs all year for his stellar play and sky-high expectations, and Chet Holmgren has helped the Oklahoma City Thunder reach second place in the NBA Western Conference with a 13-6 record.
One of these players will win the Rookie of the Year Award. Both of them have been changing the game.
Victor Wembanyama
Gary A. Vasquez-USA Today Sports
Wembanyama was nominated for the November Rookie of the Month but ultimately fell short to Holmgren in the Western Conference. This comes off an opening month of the season where Wembanyama averaged more points, rebounds, steals, and blocks. Granted, Holmgren is more efficient, but a lot of that comes from him not being the best player on his own team, garnering less attention from defenses.
In a recent rookie ranking by Yahoo, Holmgren took first place from Wembanyama. This is largely thanks to his better shooting numbers. That being said, the race is “too close to call” and the ROTY will not be a runaway race.
While Spurs’ fans can complain that Holmgren is not a rookie (He isn’t! You’re right!), the Ben Simmons precedent means that he is eligible for all the rookie awards. In some ways, this is a good thing. Wembanyama is highly competitive, and his being ranked second might amp his game up to another level, if that’s even possible.
While Yahoo didn’t mention wins and losses, a lot of people seem to think that Holmgren deserves some props in the rookie race due to the Thunder’s success. However, since 2000, only five rookies have finished with a winning record: Scottie Barnes, Ben Simmons, Malcolm Brogdon, Amar’e Stoudemire, and Mike Miller.
All of those players had an All-NBA player alongside them, much like Holmgren has Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Records really don’t matter in your rookie year. By the time the season wraps up, it will still be a close race, but Wembanyama should come out on top.
