(Photo by Mark Sagliocco/Getty Images for The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences )
The San Antonio Spurs had the most exciting rookie in all of sports last season.
Victor Wembanyama made a huge impact on both ends of the floor, having one of the single-greatest rookie campaigns of all time.
Despite Chet Holmgren’s impressive numbers and impact on winning, Wemby ran away with Rookie of the Year honors, and it wasn’t even close.
More than that, he was also a frontrunner for Defensive Player of the Year, which is obviously almost unprecedented for a first-year player.
With that in mind, Kevin Garnett claimed that he was a victim of rookie bias in that voting.
He stated that Wembanyama should’ve won both awards regardless of being a rookie, as he proved that he could get the job done on defense (via All the Smoke Productions).
Was @wemby a victim of rookie bias in the DPOTY race? @KevinGarnett5KG would like a word with the voters.
An all-new Ticket & The Truth is available now on our YouTube. pic.twitter.com/d60finqQMV
— All the Smoke Productions (@allthesmokeprod) May 25, 2024
He’s right on point.
The knock on Wembanyama was that the Spurs weren’t a good team, whereas Rudy Gobert and the Minnesota Timberwolves had the best defense in the game.
Nonetheless, Wembanyama’s on-off numbers were way more impressive, and so where his individual stats.
Also, Wembanyama was out there defending alone, whereas Gobert had a solid defensive backcourt with Anthony Edwards and Mike Conley, and an All-Defensive player in Jaden McDaniels.
Wembanyama had more blocks and steals, and there were multiple instances in which players literally refused to shoot or even drive to the rim because he was looming around.
Fortunately for him, he’s going to have plenty of opportunities to take home that award in the future, and if he keeps this up, it won’t be long before he takes down Gobert’s record of four trophies.
The post Kevin Garnett Says 1 Player Should Have Won Defensive Player Of The Year appeared first on The Cold Wire.