Who is the best rookie for the upcoming 2023-2024 season? For once, ESPN isn’t calling it Victor Wambanyama, but Chet Holmgren.

In late August, ESPN 안전카지노사이트 polled its internal panel to predict the winners of various individual awards for the upcoming 2023-2024 season.

With six categories – MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Sixth Man of the Year, and Rookie of the Year – there were some surprising results when it came to predicting the winner of the Rookie of the Year award. Victor Wembanyama, who was widely considered to be the best prospect in the game, fell to second place in the Rookie of the Year predictions.

Wembanyama was surpassed by the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Chet Holmgren. Holmgren earned 80 first-place votes, including 34.6 percent of the first-place vote, narrowly edging out Wambanyama (77). He was followed by Portland’s Scott Henderson (53 points) and Houston’s Amen Thompson (15 points).

Wembanyama’s slide to second place in our Rookie of the Year predictions isn’t really a surprise.

As recently as June, Wembanyama was being compared to LeBron James in 2003. However, after a somewhat disappointing performance at Summer League in Las Vegas in July, experts and fans’ expectations dropped significantly. In his Summer League debut against Portland, Wembanyama looked very ineffective on offense and struggled, leading some to label him a “project” prospect. NBA legend Tracy McGrady expressed reservations, saying, “He’s still too young and we’ll have to wait and see.”

Chet Holmgren, on the other hand, showed improvement in the second Summer League of his career.

Holmgren was the second overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, behind Paolo Banquero (Orlando Magic). His preparation for the season seemed to be going well, with a strong showing in Summer League, but a foot injury in the Drew League that followed sidelined him early.

After more than a year of recovery and rehabilitation, Holmgren is sharpening his knives for the 2023-2024 season, which will be his rookie year. It’s also a time when Oklahoma City is on the verge of unleashing the potential they’ve built up with the likes of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddy, and Jaylen Williams.

Holmgren and Wembanyama are similar in that they are both lanky, defensive-minded resources. They also have ball-handling skills and shot-creating abilities that don’t quite match their size, which makes them promising prospects for modern big men.

However, Holmgren’s play this summer has been more complete. Already showing a trendy big man game from last year’s Summer League with a handoff game from the top and a direct dribble-breaking offense, Holmgren has shown more stability in this area of his game through the Summer League.

The debut seasons of Wembanyama, Holmgren, and other rookies are already getting a lot of attention as they look to make the biggest impact in the NBA in 2023-2024.