One of the larger storylines from this past season surrounds the Rookie of the Year race. Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren squared off as the pair had historical first seasons.
The two seven-footers will likely be compared to each other for their entire careers. They headline a new era of modern big men who are elite paint protectors who can handle and shoot the ball. They both led the league in blocks last season.
Their NBA situations also added gas to the flames. The Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs have been rivals for most of the 2010s and will likely reignite that rivalry as both squads ascend to contenders.
Wembanyama won the first battle against Holmgren with the Rookie of the Year award. The latter had his first season after he missed last year recovering from multiple foot surgeries.
Holmgren had a sound response when asked about Wembanyama’s award. He was asked about it on the “Road Trippin'” podcast led by former NBA players Richard Jefferson and Channing Frye.
“To sit here and say ‘If this, if that, talking about situations.’ I guess our situations were different. Like polar opposites,” Holmgren said. “You can come up with 50 pros and cons for each of us on things outside of statistics, like completely random things from who’s on our team, what we’re playing for, what amount of attention is placed on us.
“You can come up with a million different things for each of us to try and skew decisions, but like at the end of the day, what is the criteria?”
Holmgren used the loaded question to get on his soapbox and critique the arbitrary standards each NBA award possesses during every season. The 22-year-old argues there’s no consistency involved.
“This is my thing with all NBA awards — what is the criteria? It’s all in the eye of the beholder, what Richard Jefferson believes is different than what Channing Frye believes,” Holmgren said. “It just comes down to who has more voters that believe in their side of the criteria I guess. I don’t think Wemby was unfair in winning Rookie of the Year or anything. Credit to him for a great season, and we’re not rookies anymore.”
This is an unsurprisingly mature response by Holmgren. He’s done an excellent job swatting down juicy questions during his time in OKC. It rivals his on-court blocks.
Despite his efforts, Holmgren and Wembanyama will be linked for the rest of their careers. It’ll be appointment viewing when the Thunder and Spurs match up.
