“Not Fair to Victor Wembanyama”: Former Nets All-Star Believes Chet Holmgren’s Injured Season Leading to Unfair Advantage in ROY Race

Former NBA star Kenyon Martin had his say about the raging debate between NBA rookies Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren, during an appearance on Gil’s Arena. The two stars have gone neck and neck in the ROTY race so far this season. However, Martin thought that while both the stars were massively talented, the comparison was unfair.

Firstly, he talked about how Holmgren did not have a target on his back due to the kind of expectations that have been placed on Wemby. Martin claimed that Holmgren was not a real rookie, and was actually in his 2nd year. 

“We don’t know what Chet would look like last year…So this is not fair to be comparing Wemby to a second-year guy, let’s start there, we don’t know what he would have looked like last year, coming in with a target on his back and everybody m*****f***ing attacking him night in night out,” Martin said.

He went on to explain how while Chet Holmgren had stars around him willing to create shots for him, Wemby did not. He talked in particular about Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, one of the best youngsters in the league. Martin claimed that while the Spurs had nobody to take attention off or help out Wembanyama, Holmgren was in a quality team with bonafide stars. 

Wembanyama instead was the main man in his team at the age of 18 and needed all the help he could get. Martin talked about how people tended to compare the two after comparing their shooting percentages and similar output. 

However, the fact that Wembanyama and Holmgren are doing it on very different types of teams and with different roles gives Martin a clear and obvious answer. Gilbert Arenas himself agreed with his opinion, claiming that he was sure Wembanyama at age 21 would effectively become an All-Star.

Chet Holmgren leading the ROTY race for the time being

While Chet Holmgren, according to Martin, is not the better player, he is still leading the ROTY race as it currently stands. Averaging 17.9 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks per game, Holmgren has improved his numbers in recent weeks and looks sure to continue scoring at a similar rate, according to NBA.com

Wembanyama on the other hand, is producing better numbers, despite slipping down to #2. Averaging 19.2 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks per game, Wemby still finds himself needing to make up ground.

This is effectively down to the kind of form his team is in. The Spurs are currently on a 9-game losing streak and find themselves dead last in the Western Conference, with a 3-16 record. That said, with the big man shooting just 43.7% from the field, and 27.1% from three, Wembanyama’s shooting percentages could do with an upgrade as well. Especially when you consider Chet’s 53.1% and 39.5% respectively in the same categories.