San Antonio Spurs middle Victor Wembanyama unanimously received the NBA Rookie of the Year award on Monday, receiving all 99 first-place votes from a media panel. The French sensation joins a prestigious group of unanimous winners, together with Ralph Sampson, David Robinson, Blake Griffin, Damian Lillard, and Karl-Anthony Towns.
Oklahoma City Thunder middle Chet Holmgren emerged as a robust runner-up, securing 98 of the 99 doable second-place votes.
“My goals were always to help my team as best as I could and get better as the year went on,” Wembanyama stated in an interview on TNT’s playoff pregame present. “I knew in order to do this, I had to be individually good on the court and dominant. So, it was a huge thing for me and a big thing to get. It’s always been really important, and I’m glad it’s finally official.”
Wembanyama lived as much as the hype surrounding him because the No. 1 general decide within the 2023 draft. He averaged 21.4 factors, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 3.6 blocked pictures, and 1.2 steals in 71 video games. His 254 complete blocks led the league.
Wembanyama led all NBA rookies in factors, rebounds, and blocks together with double-doubles (43) and triple-doubles (two). He grew to become the youngest participant in league historical past to submit a 5×5 when he had 27 factors, 10 rebounds, eight assists, 5 blocks, and 5 steals in opposition to the Los Angeles Lakers on Feb. 23.
Wembanyama grew to become the primary participant in NBA historical past to tally 1,500 factors, 700 rebounds, 250 assists, 250 blocked pictures, and 100 3-pointers in a season.
He is the primary participant from France to win the award and the third member of the Spurs, becoming a member of franchise legends Robinson and Tim Duncan.
Wembanyama praised the Spurs and the help workers searching for him as he moved from France to hitch the franchise.
“With no contest, it’s the best country in the world for an athlete,” Wembanyama stated. “The culture, everything, the infrastructure, it’s made for us to thrive. I’m really in a bubble. I know I’m living a very privileged life as an NBA player, and there’s a lot of people taking care of me every day. This award is also for them.”
Charlotte’s Brandon Miller (86 complete factors, together with one second-place vote), Miami’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. (10 factors), Golden State’s Brandin Podziemski (4 factors), and Dallas’ Dereck Lively II (one level) additionally acquired votes.
Source: www.dailysabah.com