Open Thread: Wemby and the race for Rookie of the Year
The French Phenom is facing tough competition
The race for ROTY this season might be even more exciting than the race for MVP. In Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren, two physically similar players are going head-to-head, putting up strikingly similar numbers, some of which the NBA hasn’t seen in a long time. And while Victor is averaging even more blocks per game than Chet (3 vs 2.8), he’s also averaging more points (19 vs 16.9), more rebounds (11 vs 8), more assists (2.7 vs 2.4) and more steals (1.3 vs 0.8).
Still, these are only box score stats, and it was Chet who won the Western Conference Rookie of the Month award in November. And he didn’t win it entirely without merit.
For example, Chet’s scoring more efficiently, his true shooting percentage of 63.5 percent is more than 10 percentage points higher than Wemby’s. Then again, Chet doesn’t have to carry a load as heavy as Wemby’s. Chet plays second fiddle to an All-NBA First-Teamer in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, while Wemby has to play first fiddle in a team without even a single All-Star candidate (other than himself maybe). On the other hand, Chet is playing a very important role on a 17-8 team in the loaded Western Conference, while the Spurs record couldn’t be much worse with or without Wemby.
Who do you think will win ROTY in the end? And who should? And why?
