No surprise: Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs won Rookie of the Year by a unanimous vote on Monday.
The 7 foot 4 French phenom had a historic season, with his individual performance matching the hype of Spurs fans hungry for a return to their dynasty years.
Wemby's final stats were 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists and a league-leading 3.6 blocked shots per game.
He was the first rookie to finish a season with at least 1,500 points, 250 assists and 250 blocked shots.
He’s the third player in NBA history to record in a single season a 40 and 20 game, a game with over 10 blocks, and another with least five points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals — joining only Anthony Davis and Tim Duncan to accomplish that.
Speaking to the NBA on TNT pregame show, Wembanyama said it was all about the team.
"My goals were always to help my team as best as I could and get better as the year went on," he said. "And I knew in order to do that, I had to be individually good on the court and dominant."
The Spurs as a team finished the season on a high note, winning seven of their final 11 games.
@texaspublicradio Wemby is crushing it and we’re here for it. Also, we’d like to take this moment to officially reach out to @Coyote ♬ original sound - Texas Public Radio
Coach Greg Popovich stressed that the team is the youngest in the NBA, and learning to play with each other at the highest level takes time.
When asked at the end of the season to describe Wemby's rookie year, Popovich responded with one word: "excellent."
The Spurs finished the season with 22 wins and 60 losses — the same record they had last year that landed them the number one draft pick. It will give them a shot in the 2024 NBA Draft Lottery once again.
