San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama is the early favorite to win NBA Rookie of the Year, but the No. 1 pick will have competition for the award.
With the start of training camp over a month away, ESPN has been publishing predictions for the season. Their analysts and reporters have touched on a variety of topics and awards thus far, including Rookie of the Year.
In addition to Wembanyama, other players who seemingly have a strong chance to win the award include Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren, Charlotte Hornets forward Brandon Miller and Portland Trail Blazers guard Scoot Henderson.
The ESPN panel picked Holmgren to win the award.
- Chet Holmgren, Oklahoma City Thunder: 80 points (34.6% of first-place votes)
- Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs: 77 points (42.3%)
- Scoot Henderson, Portland Trail Blazers: 53 points (15.4%)
- Amen Thompson, Houston Rockets: 15 points (7.7%)
- Brandon Miller, Charlotte Hornets: 5 points (7.7%)
Wembanyama is viewed as the favorite to win the award at minus-135 with Holmgren next at plus-350 and Henderson third at plus-400, according to the DraftKings Sportsbook. Miller has the fourth-best odds (plus-1200) and Rockets forward Cam Whitmore is fifth (plus-2000).
Holmgren will likely have the best chance of winning the award outside of Wembanyama given the Thunder project to compete for a playoff spot and have more success than the Spurs. That will likely play a major factor in the minds of the voters next year.
Of course, the odds will continue to fluctuate throughout the year as the top prospects develop and progress with their respective teams, which should make for an interesting race to follow.
Note: The panel was asked to rank their top three choices for major awards with a first-place vote receiving five points, a second-place vote receiving three and a third-place vote receiving one.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1366]