There have now only been six players in NBA history to win Rookie of the Year unanimously after San Antonio Spurs sensation Victor Wembanyama did so last night.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Not even Phoenix Suns superstar Kevin Durant, then with the Seattle Supersonics, accomplished this feat, when he won Rookie of the Year. Durant received 90 first-place votes after the 2007-08 season, while Al Horford had 30 first-place votes.
Durant was featured in a video by Fanatics alongside NBA legends and former Rookies of the Year LeBron James, Allen Iverson, Jason Kidd, Shaquille O’Neal, Chris Paul, Vince Carter, David Robinson, Grant Hill and Pau Gasol congratulating Wembanyama on his historic accomplishment.
“Hey Vic, what up!” Durant said. “Hell of a season. We looking forward to seeing what you’re doing in the next 15 years, man. Keep balling, the future’s so bright. Welcome to that Rookie of the Year club!”
congrats @wemby https://t.co/2NHkhpiuwL
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) May 7, 2024
Wembanyama averaged 21.4 points on 46.5/32.5/79.6 shooting splits, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, a league-leading 3.6 blocks and 1.2 steals in 29.7 minutes across 71 contests for the 22-60 San Antonio Spurs.
In his first year, the 7-foot-4 phenom became the only player in NBA history to average more than 20 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, three blocks, one steal and a 3-pointer per game.
Do you believe? 👽 👀 pic.twitter.com/TKa8KzuwaB
— Nike Basketball (@nikebasketball) May 5, 2024
Comparatively, Durant averaged 20.3 points on 43.0/28.8/87.3 shooting splits, 4.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 0.9 blocks and 1.0 steals in 34.6 minutes across 80 games for the 20-62 Supersonics his rookie year.
Wembanyama and Durant have often been compared to each other because of their height and guard-like abilities. However, Wembanyama is already a defensive force, expected to finish in second place in Defensive Player of the Year voting announced later today.
Even though San Antonio had only 22 wins this season, three of them came against Durant and the Suns (one was without Wembanyama). Durant had a lot of praise for Wembanyama throughout the course of the season.
In only his fifth-career NBA game in Phoenix, a 132-121 Spurs’ victory on Nov. 2, Wembanayama scored a then career-high 38 points to go along with 10 rebounds and two blocks.
“I don’t see anybody else in his game,” Durant said of Wembanyama after this game. “I know we both skinny, and I’m sure he said he watched me growing up, but he’s his own player. I’m sure he watched so many great players in the league and tried to emulate just about everybody, you can tell in his enthusiasm for the game. You could tell that through the TV and playing against him.
“He’s his own player, person, he’s gonna create his own lane that’s much different than anybody who’s ever played. And you can try to compare, but he’s gonna carve out his own lane.”
Once Wembanyama started rolling, he was not only cashing pull-up threes, but the Spurs realized how easy it is to find him inside because of his height.
“He wasn’t scoring in the post, killing us in the post per se,” Durant said, “I mean, he’s just killing us from like: they toss it up to the middle of the paint, at 7-(foot)-5, he gonna just finish over the top of our smalls and catch-and-shoots. He’s tough, man. He’s tough with that size and that shooting touch. He didn’t do much handling the ball or one-on-one action or posting us up. He just kept the game simple, and that’s what great players do.”
After the Suns crushed the Spurs 131-106 on March 23, Durant once again showed love to Wembanyama after he was tasked with guarding the rookie in the victory.
“It’s a team effort with him, you can’t guard him 1-on-1, he’s tough,” Durant said. “He is so long and when you still feel like you are playing good defense, he can still get around you because of his length and when you look up, he is at the rim.”
Durant at age 35 and Wembanyama at only 20 years old will likely have some legendary battles over the next few seasons, as Wembanyama strives to be even better moving forward.
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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau
