Victor Wembanyama wins 2023-24 NBA Rookie of Year
San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama, who was the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, unanimously took home the Rookie of the Year award, the league announced Monday.
Wembanyama beat out Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren and Charlotte’s Brandon Miller–the other two finalists–for the award.
He became the sixth player to win the award unanimously, joining Ralph Sampson, David Robinson, Blake Griffin, Damian Lillard and Karl-Anthony Towns. He also became the first player from France to win the award and the third-ever Spur–the only other two being Robinson and Tim Duncan, also top-overall selections.
Wembanyama, 20, averaged 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.2 steals and an NBA-most 3.6 blocks in just 29.7 minutes per game. He shot 46.5 percent from the floor, 32.5 percent from 3-point range (5.5 3PA; 33.2 3PAr) and 79.6 percent from the free-throw line. He was the first player to total 1,500 points, 700 rebounds, 250 assists, 250 blocks and 100 3-pointers in a single season.
His 3.6 blocks per contest rank third to only Robinson (3.9) and Manute Boll (5.0; 1985-86) for the most ever by a rookie in a single season. He also became the seventh-ever rookie–first since Griffin (2010-11)–to average at least 20.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists. The others were Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Larry Bird, Elgin Baylor, Oscar Robertson and Sidney Wicks.
That’s pretty good company, right?
San Antonio’s 7-foot-4 big was a freak all season, deteriorating players’ shots at the rim and making highlight plays on the offensive end all season. Oh, and he’s only 20, and he’s coached by one of the greatest coaches ever in Gregg Popovich. The sky’s the limit … except the 7-foot-4 behemoth may have no ceiling.
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This is a breaking news story. Stay tuned for updates.
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