Coming into the 2023-2024 NBA season, many fans were speculating over which incoming rookie would win the coveted Rookie of the Year (ROTY) award. There was a lot of additional hype being added with the league’s new rising star in Victor Wembanyama, who had been frantically talked about by NBA experts even years before he was drafted. Today, as a result of this season’s rookie class playing incredibly well, The Tower will be looking at the NBA’s top three rookies chasing the ROTY award.
The current leader in the chase for the award is Chet Holmgren, who although was drafted before last year, missed the entirety of the season due to an injury in his right foot. In the first 16 games, Holmgren has made a major impact on both the Oklahoma City Thunder’s offense and defense. Throughout these first few games, Holmgren has averaged 18 points per game, eight rebounds per game, three assists per game, and two blocks per game. Additionally, he has managed to average these incredible stats all while being the second scoring option on his team, which is currently led by Shai Gilgeous Alexander, who is averaging 30 points per game. Due to the fact that the Thunder, with a large amount of help from Holmgren, are a young and strong all around team, they managed to work their way up to the two seed in the Western Conference standings, with a record of 11- 5.
Leading up to this season, Victor Wembanyama was one of the only names that fans talked about. Similar to Holmgren, he is a seven footer, with the additional skills of long-range shooting and ball-handling. Although he has been playing very well, the San Antonio Spurs have shown that this season may not be different from the last. The Spurs have not been a good team since their dynasty fell apart, but Wembanyama was supposed to change that and give new hope to the newly struggling franchise. Unlike Holmgren, Wembanyama is the leading scorer on the Spurs, as well as their leader in rebounds, steals, and assists, and he is averaging 19 points per game, 10 rebounds per game, three assists per game, and three blocks per game, so it is safe to assume that the Spurs failure is not his fault, rather the lack of other scoring option on the team. As a result of this, the Spurs are in last place in the Western Conference standings with a record of 3-14.
The player ranked third in the Rookie of the Year ladder currently is Ausar Thompson, who despite not playing at the same level as Holmgren and Wembanyama, has proven himself to be a rising star in the NBA. Throughout his first 16 games, Thompson has averaged 11 points per game, while leading the team with 10 rebounds per game and two blocks per game as well, showing how efficient he is on the defensive side of the court. Unfortunately, he has not had that big of an impact on the Detroit Piston’s success, as they have started the year terribly and are tied for the worst record in the league, at 2-14, despite receiving high picks in a large number of recent drafts.
