SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama is set to take the NBA by storm and is considered the next generational player the league will see.
At the 2023 Summer League after two games his totals were 36 points, 20 rebounds, eight blocks and three assists on 41% shooting from the floor.
During his time in the French League with the Metropolitans 92, he averaged 21.6 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 3.2 blocks per game during the 2022-23 season.
However, that is not enough for Clippers' Paul George who thinks Webanyama will not have the NBA Rookie of the Year Award on his mantle.
The race for the Rookie of the Year Award was a topic on "Podcast P with Paul George."
The Clippers forward was asked who he thinks will be the rookie with the hardware and he picked Thunder's Chet Holmgren.
And it comes down to playing time and the NBA learning curve.
"I am going to go Chet. Just because I think he is going to play a ton, they (OKC) are going to be a winning team," he said. "He's going to get a lot of coverage because he plays both ends, he blocks shots. He is a little bit more polished, further along, I think, than Wemby is.”
He went on to say the Spurs rookie will have a learning curve while Holmgren is further along in his NBA development.
“Wemby is going to have a little learning curve," he said. "But (Holmgren) being in the league, seeing the game up close for a year is going to give him that much more of a head start. So I am going to say, Chet."
Many believe the Spurs will load-manage Wembanyama heavily next season considering players of his frame usually do not have long NBA careers.
However, to qualify for the award, he'll need to play at least 65 games next season which all signs point to he will.
Nevertheless, the race for the award will be a tight one.
Aside from Wembanyama and Holmgren, there's Scoot Henderson, Brandon Miller, and others like Amen Thompson.
The 19-year-old Spurs big man will likely shoulder a lot next season.
All eyes will be on him to see if he will live up to the label of a "generational" player not to mention carry the expectations that he can turn the Spurs back to a perennial playoff team and beyond.
Should he live up to the massive hype surrounding him, there is little doubt he will be the next Rookie of the Year.
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