Wembanyama denies ROTY race is over, names what could deprive him of the award / News - Basketnews.com

Victor Wembanyama explained why individual awards like Rookie of the Year are very important to him and what success in the NBA is all about.

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Victor Wembanyama is having a sensational first season with the San Antonio Spurs that can garner him the Rookie Of The Year (ROTY) award. The Frenchman is averaging 20.7 ppg, 10.2 rpg and 3.4 bpg and is currently leading the rookie ladder.

Victor Wembanyama

MIN:28.66PTS:20.72 (54.71%)REB:10.2As:3.39ST:1.3BL:3.33TO:3.43GM:54ProfileNBA2023/2024

31 games of 20-plus points, 31 double-doubles, his league-leading shot blocking, that 5×5 game against the Lakers serve to prove the point. What's more, the rookie has topped 1 billion social-media video views, trailing only LeBron James and Stephen Curry. While Wembanyama seems as the heavy favorite to win the honor, he is facing competition from Chet Holmgren, who missed his rookie year due to an injury last season.

In that respect, the recent game between the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder held great importance for the ROTY race. Wemby outplayed Chet Holmgren in their recent matchup by tallying 28 points, 13 rebounds, and 7 assists for the Spurs during their 132-118 win. On the other hand, Holmgren finished the game with 23 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists.

Comparing their stats for the season, Wembanyama overpowers Holmgren in almost every category, as the second draft pick in 2022 is putting up 17.2 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game. The French big man needs at least 12 more games to reach the NBA's 65-game minimum for awards eligibility.

And while it looks like the race for the award has finally been settled, Wembanyama mentioned that that's not the case.

"I don't even ask myself the question if this race is over or not, because I want to win games and we have 22 remaining. So I have to keep performing. It's very important for me because I'm convinced that the best way for me to help my team is by being also individually performing on a whole season," he said. "So, yes, individual awards like Rookie of the Year, are very important for me."

Asked about what he thinks could prevent him from from winning the award, Wembanyama responded:

"To me, the great players, especially today, when you see [Joel] Embiid, Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander], Giannis [Antetokounmpo] they don't score 30 points, and then 15 and then 20. They score 30 every night.

Success in this league is performing during the 82 games, you must have it at every game. They aren't satisfied of performing only a few times. I'd like to follow their example."

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