The NBA Rookie of the Year title seems to have a clear winner now. Even though we have to wait for a while for the official announcement, fans and experts have picked their winner. Victor Wembanyama is leading the charts for the coveted trophy in more ways than one. Recently, the 20-year-old received a stamp of approval from Stephen A. Smith as well. In addition to that, Wemby’s stats prove that this is not a fluke or a product of hype, and he truly deserves this honor.
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Stephen A. recently on his show First Take said,
“Victor Wembanyama is the real deal. So is Chet Holmgren. But Victor Wembanyama last night, 28, 13, with 7 assists and 5 blocks. That was a statement performance”.
The media veteran, who is often hard to impress is floored by what the Spurs rookie has put on display this season. As for the ROTY title, he said,
“The Rookie of the Year situation is over. Wembanyama is going to win Rookie of the Year and he is going to deserve it.”
Stephen A. also praised Holmgren, stating that he respects his game, but for him, the ROTY has a clear winner in Wemby.
The two contenders faced off yesterday where the Spurs took the game away in a 132-118 win. More importantly, Holmgren was completely outplayed by Wembanyama. The Spurs rookie registered astonishing numbers in comparison to the OKC rookie’s 23 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists. As for the success of their teams’, the OKC are currently 2nd in the Western Conference with a 41-18 record while the Spurs are at the bottom with 12-48.
Victor Wembanyama has a major lead on his opponents for ROTY
To say that Wembanyama’s numbers this season are impressive would be underselling. The 20-year-old is averaging 20.6 PPG, 10.2 RPG, 3.3 APG, 3.3 BPG, and 1.3 SPG. To put this in perspective, Wemby is leading the charts on points, rebounds, blocks, and steals in the rookie pool. Leading 4 out of 5 categories in rookie year automatically places him alongside players who’ve had one of the best rookie seasons of all time.
Comparing Wemby’s numbers to his closest competitor Holmgren also shows that in terms of individual performances, he is way above.
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Holmgren is averaging 16.3 points, 7.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists in 3 games that he has played against the French national. Wembanyama’s numbers in the same number of games are slightly higher as he is averaging 20.0 points, 13.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists.
Wemby is 1-2 in the 3 games he has played against Holmgren’s OKC. When Wembanyama entered the league, there were high hopes riding on him. He had a buzz around his name that was last seen when LeBron James was entering the league. From the numbers and praise, safe to say, that Wembanyama has lived up to the expectations.
