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NBA Rookie of the Year candidates Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs rookie and Chet Holmgren of the Oklahoma Thunder are set to meet for a second time in their young NBA careers. But, there’s no doubt that this one comes with much higher anticipation.
When the Thunder routed the Spurs 123-87 in mid-November, the NBA’s first Rookie of the Month awards (one per conference) were still a couple of weeks away. And because the meeting came three weeks into the season, both star big men were just beginning to build impressive stat lines. In fact, both struggled that night. Holmgren scored just nine points and Wembanyama managed eight.
Spurs-Thunder II tips at 9:30 ET Wednesday in San Antonio.
An extra gear for Victor Wembanyama
Over the last several weeks, Victor Wembanyama has told ClutchPoints how much motivation he draws from where he is in the NBA Rookie of the Year race and his standing as a potential All-Star.
ClutchPoints asked Spurs forward Cedi Osman if he senses how personally the 7-foot-4 marvel takes match-ups against other star players.
“Oh, yeah. We love to see him like that. It’s going to be a special match-up tonight but I think that every game he steps on the court, he’s playing hard every night. He doesn’t like losing. He always gets mad. It’s always great to have this kind of character on the team. Vic is a really special talent and he’s definitely going to be great,” the first-year Spur responded.
It’s Holmgren who’s won the first two Western Conference Rookie of the Month awards.
“I feel like Vic shows up for every game,” the longest-tenured Spur, Keldon Johnson added. “Every game is a big game for Vic. He’s just that guy. Whether we play Detroit or whoever, I feel like he’s ready to go. He comes out prepared. I know he’s going to show up tonight and I know he’s going to be ready. We’re looking forward to a good game and hopefully we come out on top.”
Match-up of top NBA Rookie of the Year candidates
The top pick in this past summer’s draft heads into Wednesday night’s game with better statistics than the second overall pick of the 2022 NBA Draft.
Victor Wembanyama is averaging 20.3 points, 10, rebounds, 3.2 blocks, 2.9 assists, and 1.1 steals per game.
Chet Holmgren is averaging 17.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.6 blocks, 2.8 assists and 0.6 steals per game.
The minutes-per-game effectiveness edge also goes to the phenom from France, even though he’s been doing a vast portion of his damage under a minutes restriction because of a right ankle that sustained a couple of injuries in late December. Wemby is averaging 28.5 minutes per contest compared to Holmgren’s 30.2.
As you would imagine, there’s no doubt who Wembanyama’s teammates take in the NBA Rookie of the Year chase.
“Vic is the Rookie of the Year in my opinion,” Keldon Johnson said.
“I think you know what my answer is,” Cedi Osman agreed.
The edge regarding team success isn’t as close as the statistical difference. At 30-13, Holmgren’s Thunder are at the top of the West. The 8-35 Spurs are last in the conference.
“I think everybody’s looking forward to this match-up between Wemby and Chet. What Victor is doing, it’s amazing. He’s been passing, he’s been scoring, he’s been rebounding, he’s been blocking, he’s doing everything,” Osman says.
Credit the 20-year-old Wembanyama for the reason this match-up is getting any attention, relatively speaking. Otherwise, it would mean another first vs worst pairing.
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