You Need to Understand How Rare Victor Wembanyama's ROY Season Was

Victor Wembanyama has won the 2024 NBA Rookie of the Year. That honor has clearly been his for months. So much so that, at some point, FanDuel's Sportsbook actually took the option to bet on the award off its website (long before the other postseason honors came off the board).

But that single trophy doesn't quite capture the impact and production Wembanyama had on the San Antonio Spurs and the league in his first season.

Wembanyama was so dominant as a 19- and 20-year-old that his peers voted him the league's best defender in an anonymous poll conducted by The Athletic. And that wasn't even the loftiest praise heaped on him in that piece.

Wemby also came in first in response to the question, "You're building a roster from scratch: Who are you going to sign first?" Just ahead of soon-to-be-three-time MVP Nikola Jokić.

That forecast is, in a word, bold.

And yet, after what we just witnessed from Wembanyama over the last seven months, it might be justifiable.

Wembanyama averaged 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 3.6 blocks and 1.2 steals per game.

Needless to say, no rookie in NBA history matched or exceeded all five marks for an entire season, so we have to expand the search to include everyone.

And when you do that, the only campaign that shows up is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's 1975-76, when he was 28 and had already won a championship and been named league MVP three times (he won his fourth MVP for 1975-76).

And oh, Kareem averaged 41.2 minutes per game that season. In 2023-24, Wembanyama was at just 29.7. When you adjust Wembanyama's production for playing time and pace of play, the numbers are almost mind-boggling.

As a rookie, he put up 25.7 points, 12.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 4.3 blocks and 1.5 steals per 75 possessions.

He shot 32.5 percent from three, but that number ticked up as he adjusted to the size and athleticism in the NBA. Since the calendar flipped to February, he shot 35.1 percent from deep.

Scoring efficiency is really the only box Wemby didn't check, but he's already showing signs that he's headed in the right direction on that front. And the form on his jumper suggests he'll be more than fine.

In case you haven't heard, Wembanyama is 7'4", but he pulls up and follows through like a small forward, and often does so from well beyond the three-point line.

His dimension-defying movement isn't limited to his shot either.

He handles the ball in ways we really haven't seen from players of his size. Just this month, in a half-court setting, when things are crowded and all five defenders are in the picture, he hit the Memphis Grizzlies with a fake handoff-to-shamgod-to-spin move combo that left him wide open at the cup.

He can also defend on the perimeter better than most 5s. His range as a help defender is seemingly limitless. And we know all about the rim protection.

Beyond his leading the league in blocks per game (by over a full block, by the way), San Antonio allowed a whopping 8.5 fewer points per 100 possessions when Wembanyama was on the floor. When he played, opponents' effective field-goal percentage was 1.5 points lower. When he was the nearest defender, shooters' field-goal percentage was 4.5 points worse.

Wemby was a menace on that end. And those griping about him being a Defensive Player of the Year finalist while his team ranked in the bottom third of the league in defensive rating don't have a very strong case.

He led the league in stocks (steals plus blocks) per game, had the aforementioned 8.5-point defensive rating swing, had an individual defensive rating (points allowed per 100 possessions when a given player is on the floor) that ranked in the 75th percentile and a defensive estimated plus-minus (one of the most trusted catch-all metrics in NBA front offices) that ranked in the 98th percentile.

Wembanyama's already a dominant defensive anchor who can bother any position on a switch, too.

As he gets stronger, more experienced and more used to NBA defensive schemes and opposing offenses, he's only going to get better.

The same goes for his offense, and that includes more than the jump shot.

Wembanyama has already shown flashes of playmaking-big upside. And his assists weren't just the obvious kickouts or handoffs that sometimes juice the averages of centers. He's already making smart reads out of his own drives and isolations from the perimeter. He's creating looks for teammates and hitting them with on-time, on-target passes.

He's obviously not as prolific as stars like Jokić or Domantas Sabonis on that front, but he's off to a more than encouraging start.

And again, emphasis on the word "start" there.

Wembanyama is only 20 years old, and he checks just about every box. It's very easy to imagine him eventually checking every single one while also likely being the tallest player in the league throughout his career.

He already has a fringe All-NBA case, and this could very well be the worst version we see of him for the next 10-15 years.

So, yes, it'd be risky to start your franchise with Wembanyama over Jokić. But it's far from crazy.

When you combine the production with his size, fluidity and already bonkers highlight reel, it's fair to say we've never seen anything like Wemby.