As the 2023-2024 preseason kicked off, we got to see the trailer of what the Rookie of the Year race could potentially look like. As the San Antonio Spurs took on the Oklahoma City Thunder, Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren produced an entertaining duel. Even though the Thunder clinched a slender 122-121 victory, stat revealed that Holmgren failed to score a single point on Wemby. Calling it “weird,” Josh Giddey couldn’t seem to wrap his head around this stat.
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Despite putting up a terrific stat line, allowing the Thunder to begin their 2023-2024 campaign with a win, some naysayers managed to find a random stat to belittle Chet Holmgren. Josh Giddey, who also had a solid 10-point outing, instantly came to his teammate’s defense.
Josh Giddey defends Chet Holmgren from “weird” stat
Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren led their respective teams and produced one action-packed duel. Wembanyama, the #1 pick of the 2023 Draft, suited up for 19:22 minutes and lodged 20 points and 5 rebounds. On the other hand, the former Gonzaga Bulldog played merely 16:16 minutes and recorded a 21-point, 9-rebound near-double-double.
Despite Holmgren grabbing the win, there were naysayers who dismissed his performance by sharing a “weird” stat. Apparently, the OKC rookie was unable to score any points when Wemby guarded him.
This tweet didn’t sit well with Josh Giddey. The Aussie guard came to his teammate’s defense immediately.
“what a weird post lol”
Chet also had a key point that he believed was essential to put up on social media. Following the contest, the rookie seemed salty as he called out the French phenom for headbutting him during a play.
Victor Wembanyama can’t wait to play against the Oklahoma City Thunder again
During the postgame conference, Victor Wembanyama showed immense class and lauded Chet Holmgren for his performance. The reigning MVP of the French league praised Holmgren’s stat-sheet-stuffing performance from the first half.
From the preseason battle, we can easily conclude that the Rookie of the Year race will be very closely contested. Considering that Chet, Wembanyama, and Scoot Henderson are all in the same conference, the Rookie of the Year honors will be an accolade to keep an eye out for.
