Los Angeles Clippers forward George recently made his prediction for the NBA Rookie of the Year award, and the eight-time All-Star chose a player on his former team: Oklahoma City forward Chet Holmgren.
Holmgren is considered a rookie this season after missing all of last year with a foot injury. He returned to game action in four summer league games, averaging 16.5 points, 9.8 rebounds, 3.5 blocks, two assists and one steal.
The former second pick is one of the favorites to win Rookie of the Year, along with San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama and Portland Trail Blazers guard Scoot Henderson. George, speaking on “Podcast P” this week, believes Holmgren has the advantage to win.
It is going to come down to who is going to play more. I’m going to go with Chet just because I think he is going to play a ton. They’re going to be a winning team. The way they play is going to be fun to watch and I think he is going to get a lot of coverage because he plays both ends — he blocks shots.
He is a little bit further along I think than Wemby is. Wemby is going to have a little learning curve. I know Chet didn’t play much due to the injury his rookie year but being in the league, seeing the game up close for a year is going to give him that much more of a head start.
Next season's ROY race is gonna be a close one 👀🍿
PG made his pick. Who you got? pic.twitter.com/ABZha6KRTe
— Podcast P with Paul George (@PodcastPShow) August 30, 2023
Wembanyama is viewed as the favorite to win (minus-135) with Holmgren next (plus-350) and Henderson third (plus-400), according to DraftKings. Charlotte forward Brandon Miller has the fourth-best odds (plus-1200) and Houston 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.
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