It looks like the 2023-24 Rookie of the Year race will come down to San Antonio Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama and Oklahoma City Thunder big man Chet Holmgren. The two have played excellent basketball to begin their respective NBA careers.
Wembanyama, the No. 1 pick of the 2023 draft, has dealt with heavy scrutiny since being selected. He has handled everything very well: He’s averaging 18.8 points, 10.4 rebounds and 3 assists for the Spurs.
Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid, who dealt with similar scrutiny when he entered the league, sat down with David Aldridge of The Athletic and gave some advice for Wembanyama:
Not trying to be too critical. Obviously, extremely talented. Right now, there’s so much hype around him, I think he’s trying to live up to the hype. That’s what I see. And I watch a lot of games. I think, first of all, he has to figure out where he wants to play, whether he wants to be a guard or a big or whatever. It’s not necessarily whether he wants to be a guard or a big; it’s what he wants to become. Do you want to become KD, or do you want to become me? Not KD, or like a version of those guys — you want to combine everything. Right now, I just feel like everything kind of feels a little forced, in the way that he’s playing. Which is not bad. Because the only way to get better is to play through it and learn. That’s the only way. You make a lot of mistakes, and you learn.
Embiid, the reigning league MVP, has taken big leaps forward and the Sixers are in a great spot because of it. Due to the work he has put in to get better, Philadelphia has been able to be a consistent title contender in the East. Wembanyama has the potential to do the same for San Antonio.
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