Meradith Garcia
Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama speaks to reporters during the Silver and Black's Media Day last year.
Little surprise then that the 7-foot-4 Frenchman on Monday was nominated for two of the NBA’s most prestigious awards: Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) and Rookie of the Year (ROTY). A global panel of sports journalists picks three finalists for each of the NBA’s annual awards. The winner in each is predetermined by a ranked vote.
To win ROTY, Wemby will need to beat out Charlotte’s Brandon Miller and Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren, the latter of whom was drafted in 2022 but missed the entirety of last season after injuring his foot.
With Wembanyama averaging 21.4 points and 10.6 rebounds a game, some sports analysts, including NBC’s Jay Croucher and Drew Sinsick, are calling "The Extraterrestrial" the clear favorite to bag the coveted award.
However, less optimism surrounds his ability to win DPOY.
Despite Wembanyama averaging 3.6 blocks per game — the highest in the league this season — most analysts and sports bettors expect another 7-foot Frenchman, Minnesota’s Rudy Goebert, to win land that award.
Makes sense, considering no rookie has ever won DPOY.
The NBA will announce the winners of those awards and others on TNT during the playoffs.
Subscribe to SA Current newsletters.
Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter| Or sign up for our RSS Feed
