San Antonio Spurs STAR Victor Wembanyama was named NBA Rookie of the Year 2024, Tuesday (7/5) WIB. This is the first time a basketball player from France has won this award.
The 20-year-old center with a height of 2.24 meters was the first draft pick last year.
He recorded 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 3.6 blocks and 1.2 steals per game in his first season in the NBA.
Wembanyama won by a landslide in the Rookie of the Year voting with 99 first-place votes, the first following Karl-Anthony Towns in 2016.
“My goal is to make my team the best and become a better player as time goes by,” Wembanyama said in an interview with TNT.
“I know to do that I have to perform well and be dominant as an individual. Therefore, I am happy to get this award,” he continued.
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Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren finished second followed by Charlotte Hornets player Brandon Miller.
Under the tutelage of Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, Wembanyama became the third Spurs player to win the Rookie of the Year title following David Robinson in 1990 and Tim Duncan in 1998.
Wembanyama tied Manute Bol’s record in 1986 as the rookie to lead the NBA in blocks in a season.
The French basketball player revealed that he had improved all aspects of his game so that he might lead all the statistics of the rookie players, starting from points, rebounds and blocks.
“Everything is getting better. I work the hardest in the areas of playmaking, shot selection and limiting playing time,” he said. (AFP/Z-1)
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