Generational might be an understatement.
San Antonio Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama justified his reputation as the best rookie in over a decade and is set to be rewarded for it, as he was named the NBA’s Rookie of the Year, the league announced Monday.
He became the first player from France to win the award and the third Spurs player, joining David Robinson (1989-90) and Tim Duncan (1997-98).
“My goals were always to help my team as best as I could and get better as the year went on,” Wembanyama told the Inside the NBA crew on TNT after winning the award. “I knew that in order to do this I had to be individually good on the court and dominant. So it was a huge thing to me, a big thing to get. It’s always been important, I’m glad it’s finally official.”
He was the sixth unanimous selection in NBA history, joining Ralph Sampson, David Robinson, Blake Griffin, Damian Lillard and Karl-Anthony Towns. He beat out Oklahoma City Thunder big Chet Holmgren and second-overall pick Brandon Miller of the Charlotte Hornets for the award.
Wembanyama’s emergence in the NBA lived up to the hype and more, as his otherworldly frame and abilities made him the easy choice for the award. His numbers backed it up as well, finishing with 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.2 steals and a league-leading 3.6 blocks per game in his rookie season.
He led all rookies in points, rebounds and blocks per game, in addition to ranking fourth in assists and second in steals per game. He is the second rookie to lead all NBA players in blocks per game in a season, joining Manute Bol (1985-86).
His 21.4 points were the most by a rookie since Blake Griffin scored 22.5 in the 2010-11 season and were more than all-time legends like LeBron James, Larry Bird, Tim Duncan and Kevin Durant. Meanwhile, only Manute Bol (5.0) and David Robinson (3.9) had more blocks per game than Wembanyama in their rookie seasons.
“Leading rookies in most categories and leading the league in blocks, I’m pretty proud of this,” Wembanyama said when the season ended.
Wembanyama’s rookie season was a year of firsts. Past just being the first player to look and play like he does, his status as a physical anomaly coincided with some ridiculous statistical anomalies. He became the first player in NBA history to average 20+ points, 10+ rebounds, 3+ assists, 3+ blocks, 1+ steals and 1+ 3-pointers per game.
Wembanyama became just the fourth player, and first rookie, to finish a season with at least 1,500 points, 250 assists and 250 blocked shots. The others: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did it five times, Hakeem Olajuwon did it twice and Robinson did it twice. Nobody had done it since 1993-94, when Olajuwon and Robinson both had such a season.
He also joined an exclusive club, logging the league’s 22nd ‘5×5’ stat line in a game against the Lakers. He finished with 27 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, five steals and five blocks.
“He doesn’t have a ceiling,” LeBron James said after that game. “He can do whatever he wants to do in his career. … I said a long time ago how special he was, and it’s really that simple.”
Tack on some world-breaking viral highlights including taking off from the free throw line for a finger-roll layup, step-back threes after breaking down his defender and a bevy of seemingly impossible floaters, and Wembanyama’s rookie year has gone down as one of the most unforgettable in some time.
Despite his individual success, the Spurs couldn’t follow it up with a winning season. They finished 22-60 and second-last in the Western Conference.
Wembanyama is also a finalist for the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year award. Should he win both, he’ll be the first player to ever take home both awards in the same year. Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert and Miami’s Bam Adebayo are the other finalists. That award will be announced on Tuesday.
The NBA will reveal the MVP — either Denver’s Nikola Jokic, Dallas’ Luka Doncic or Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — on Wednesday.
— With files from the Associated Press
