San Antonio Spurs unicorn Victor
Wembanyama has landed the 2023-2024 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year, the
league announced Monday night.
Wembanyama, the 20-year-old
French phenom, won the ROTY race in a landslide. He landed in all
of the 99 of the 1st place votes (equivalent to 10 points)
available to finish with a perfect 495 points. OKC’s Chet Holmgren
finished 2nd with 98 2nd place votes (equivalent to 5 points) and 1
3rd place votes (equivalent to 1 point) for 295 points while
Charlotte’s Brandon Miller was 3rd with 1 2nd place vote and 98 3rd
place votes. Wembanyama becomes the first unanimous NBA Rookie of
the Year since Karl-Anthony Towns in the 2015-16 season.
Wembanyama is the first player
from France to win the Kia NBA Rookie of the Year Award. He is also
the third player to earn the honor with the Spurs, joining David
Robinson (1989-90) and Tim Duncan (1997-98).
The 7-foot-4 wunderkind led all
rookies in points, rebounds, and blocks per game. He is the second
rookie to lead all NBA players in blocks per game in a season,
joining Manute Bol (1985-86).
Wembanyama became the first
player to average at least 20.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 3.0
blocks in fewer than 30 minutes per game in a season. He is also
the first player to have at least 1,500 points, 700 rebounds, 250
assists, 250 blocks, and 100 three-pointers made in a
season.
