Victor Wembanyama had an extraordinary rookie season in the NBA. While others may have scored more points, grabbed more rebounds, or made more blocks and steals individually, none had ever achieved the combination of statistics Wembanyama did in his first year.
He averaged at least 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 3.6 blocks, and 1.2 steals per game. This long-anticipated outcome became reality on Monday, as the French star from the Spurs was unanimously named the NBA’s Rookie of the Year.
He joins the ranks of David Robinson in 1990 and Tim Duncan in 1998, both former No. 1 overall picks for the Spurs who were immediately recognized as centers destined to lead the team to success.
Speaking from San Antonio on TNT after the award announcement, Wembanyama expressed his gratitude, stating, “My goals were always to help my team as best as I could and get better as the year went on.” He emphasized the importance of individual performance and dominance on the court to achieve this recognition.
Wembanyama’s achievement of receiving every first-place vote makes him the sixth player in NBA history to do so since the award was established in the 1952-53 season. He joins the ranks of players like Ralph Sampson, David Robinson, Blake Griffin, Damian Lillard, and Karl-Anthony Towns.
Chet Holmgren from Oklahoma City and Brandon Miller from Charlotte were also in the running for the award. However, Wembanyama received all 99 first-place votes from a panel of reporters and broadcasters covering the league. Holmgren received 98 out of 99 second-place votes, while Miller received the remaining second-place vote, placing him third.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. from Miami came in fourth, followed by Brandin Podziemski from Golden State and Dereck Lively II from Dallas. No other rookie received a second- or third-place vote.
In recent years, there have been other nearly unanimous selections. Paolo Banchero from Orlando received 98 out of 100 first-place votes last year, Ja Morant from Memphis received 99 out of 100 in 2020, Luka Doncic from Dallas received 98 out of 100 in 2019, and Ben Simmons from Philadelphia received 90 out of 101 in 2018.
However, this time, there was no doubt – Wembanyama was the clear winner. And he’s already focused on improving further. “Physically, the work never stops,” Wembanyama said. “I’ve had my plan ready for months to improve my body, and we’ll keep finding new ways to get better. As for basketball, there’s a lot I want to work on.”
Wembanyama became the first international player to win the award since Doncic in 2019, and the fifth in the last ten seasons. Andrew Wiggins from Canada won in 2015, Karl-Anthony Towns from the Dominican Republic won in 2016, Simmons from Australia won in 2018, followed by Doncic the next season.
