We’ve reached the midpoint of an NBA season filled with the unexpected — we’re watching the Warriors dynasty crumble while the Oklahoma City Thunder’s seems ready to take off. The season’s midpoint also means it’s time to take stock of the NBA postseason awards. All week long, we will make our picks for some of the NBA’s top awards at this point in the season. Today:
NBA Rookie of the Year: Chet Holmgren
2. Victor Wembanyama
3. Jaime Jaquez Jr.
For a lot of people, Holmgren is seen as the runaway leader to win Rookie of the Year — and there is no question he has been as impressive a rookie shooter as we have seen, and his rim protection has lifted the Thunder defense. However, for me, this is a much closer race with Victor Wembanyama than people appear to think — this could flip by the end of the season.
However, right now, it’s unquestionably Holmgren as Rookie of the Year.
With Oklahoma City, Holmgren walked into a situation where he had a clearly defined role: Set picks for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, pop out and hit some 3s, and provide needed paint protection on defense. He’s done that more efficiently than expected, shooting 39.5% on 3s and with 2.5 blocked shots per game. However, Holmgren has shown much more than that, he’s faced up, is shooting 64.5% on 2-pointers, and has shown off his handles at points. On a team with SGA as the MVP-level star, Holmgren looks like the No. 2 of the future — if not right now.
"I don’t really know where that came from.” 🤷♂️
— NBA (@NBA) December 22, 2023
- Chet on his self oop pic.twitter.com/MkyzSeMtir
What truly separates him in this race is he is playing a meaningful role in winning, a rarity for rookies in the NBA.
Wembanyama walked into a very different role, with a rebuilding Spurs team that was experimenting — such as Jeremy Sochan at the point and playing Wemby at the four next to Zach Collins — and he was given the ball and asked to explore his game. The versatile Wembanyama has faced up with the ball in his hands, been a fulcrum of the offense at the elbow, set picks, been a force in transition, and defended at a high level. He’s explored his game and where it fits in the NBA.
Through it all, he’s put up impressive counting stats — 19.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, and three assists a game (for a rookie almost to be a 20 and 10 guy is amazing). However, he’s not been efficient, shooting 29.4% from 3 and a 54.7 true shooting percentage, a little below the league average. In recent weeks, the Spurs have moved Wembanyama mostly to center and changed their point guard rotation. Combine that with Wembanyama having 30+ games of NBA experience and he looks more comfortable. In his last 10 games, Wembanyama has averaged 21.2 points on 52% shooting overall and 31.9% from 3. If that change continues, this Rookie of the Year race gets far more interesting.
Jaquez is a clear third in this race, stepping into a big role due to injuries on the Heat and thriving averaging 14 points a game with a 60 true shooting percentage. He’s shown a gift as a pick-and-roll ball handler and has contributed to wins for the 23-16 Heat.
Also deserving of mention are Brandin Podziemski of the Warriors, Dereck Lively II of the Mavericks, Brandon Miller in Charlotte, and Cason Wallace with Oklahoma City.
