Tag: Rookie Of The Year

Who is the favorite for Rookie of the Year – Chet Holmgren or Victor Wembanyama?

Will the Spurs rookie or the Thunder star take home the hardware for 2024?

Who is the favorite for the NBA’s 2024 Rookie of the Year award at the midpoint of the league’s 2023-24 season? The general consensus is that the award is down to a two-man race made up of Oklahoma City Thunder “rookie” Chet Holmgren or San Antonio Spurs rookie phenom Victor Wembanyama? (We put scare quotes around rookie in the first case, given Holmgren has spent a year with the team, though it isn’t our status to define.)

Richard Jefferson, Kendrick Perkins and Chiney Ogwumike joined ESPN’s Malika Andrews on a recent episode of the popular “NBA Today” show to talk over which of the two potential generational talents is more likely to take home that particular piece of full-season hardware.

Take a look at the clip embedded below to hear whether they see Holmgren or Wemby in the lead for Rookie of the Year at the halfway point of the season.

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Bijan Robinson named an AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year finalist

The former Texas Longhorn had a productive rookie season despite a limited workload.

Despite a limited workload and shared backfield, former Texas running back Bijan Robinson is a finalist for the AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award.

Robinson was second for all-purpose yards by a rookie this season with 1,464, trailing only Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua.

The Atlanta Falcons star was selected with the No. 8 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft and has lived up to the hype when he gets the ball. Robinson rushed for 976 yards with 4.6 yards per carry. He also rushed for four touchdowns and caught another four.

Robinson was held back by former Falcons head coach Arthur Smith, where he shared the backfield with fellow running back Tyler Allgeier and utility man Cordarrelle Patterson. Bijan only accounted for 39% of Atlanta’s snaps and should have seen much more. With a new coaching staff in 2024, Robinson will likely be used more.

Here are the offensive finalists for the AP NFL Rookie of the Year award.

Falcons RB Bijan Robinson named finalist for Rookie of the Year

Atlanta Falcons RB Bijan Robinson named among 5 Rookie of the Year finalists

Five finalists have been selected for the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year award, including Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson, the NFL announced on Thursday afternoon.

Robinson rushed for 976 yards and four touchdowns on 214 carries, adding another 487 receiving yards and four touchdowns on 58 receptions. While the rookie wasn’t able to help the Falcons make the playoffs in 2023, his future looks bright in Atlanta after a promising first year.

The other finalists are Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs, Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud, Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta, and Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua.

The winner of the AP Rookie of the Year award will be announced at the NFL honors ceremony on February 8.

Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama or the Thunder’s Chet Holmgren for Rookie of the Year – who wins?

Does Wemby have a shot?

When it comes to the vote for the San Antonio Spurs‘ star forward Victor Wembanyama or the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Chet Holmgren for Rookie of the Year, who will win? For some voters, the luxury of having been around Oklahoma City for a full season while recovering from injury ought to take Holmgren out of the race by default.

But if we can look past the designation of the league of the OKC big man as a first-year player, should Wemby or Chet get the nod? The esteemed hosts of TNT’s popular “Inside the NBA” recently weighed in on what is widely seen as a two-man race between the pair, with Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley all weighing in with their choice for the honor.

Does Wemby have a shot in their estimation?

Take a look at the clip embedded above to find out what the crew had to say about the Rookie of the Year race.

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35-year-old Eric Cole wins PGA Tour’s Rookie of the Year, second-oldest winner in history

Cole finished in the top five in four of his final five events in 2023.

Eric Cole waited more than a decade to get his PGA Tour card after turning pro.

The wait paid off.

Cole, 35, was named the Tour’s 2022-23 Rookie of the Year on Wednesday to win the Arnold Palmer Award. He’s the second-oldest winner of the Arnold Palmer Award in the Tour’s history (Todd Hamilton was 38 when he won in 2004) and he beat out rising star Ludvig Aberg for the title.

The PGA Tour Player of the Year and PGA Tour Rookie of the Year awards are determined by a member vote, with Tour members who played in at least 15 official FedExCup events during the 2022-23 season eligible to vote. Scottie Scheffler was voted Player of the Year.

“It’s a huge honor to win Rookie of the Year,” Cole said. “It’s an award in golf where you only get one chance to win it, which is a little bit unique. To win that and be voted by my peers is pretty incredible, and it’s just a huge honor.”

Cole’s mother, Laura Baugh, was the LPGA Rookie of the Year in 1973.

Cole had seven top-10 finishes last season, including a runner-up at the Honda Classic (now the Cognizant Classic). There were 28 rookies last season and he was the only one to finish in the top 50 of the FedEx Cup standings.

He finished in the top five in four of his final five events in 2023, helping secure his status among the up-and-comers on the PGA Tour and the title of Rookie of the Year.

BY THE NUMBERS: Did the players get the vote right?

Over the last 12 months, Cole rose from 228th to 20th in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings but his year did get off to a rocky start. He missed his first four cuts, which included testing positive for COVID-19 at the 2022 Fortinet Championship and then having his clubs stolen a couple weeks later at the Shriners Children’s Open.

He ended up making 37 starts, though, with his best finish coming at the Honda when he fell in a playoff against Chris Kirk. He tied for second at the Zozo Championship in Japan and finished T-3 at the season-ending RSM Classic.

“It was a long year,” Cole said. “I got a lot of comments that I played a lot, but I was just so happy to be out on Tour finally, and any chance I had to compete on Tour just felt like a huge privilege.

“I didn’t get off to the best start missing some early cuts, but then kind of got it together a little bit and started to play really consistently and pretty well there the last half of the year and kind of capped it off with a pretty good fall, so it was awesome.”

His last missed cut came in May at the Charles Schwab Challenge, making 15 straight cuts to end the year. He’s in the field at the season-opening The Sentry, playing in the first two rounds with Open champion Brian Harman and Camilo Villegas.

Every winner of the PGA Tour’s Rookie of the Year Award (some names may surprise you)

Meet all 33 players who have received the Arnold Palmer Award.

The silly season debate on who deserves to be the Rookie of the Year will make for an interesting few weeks during the PGA Tour’s offseason this winter, as both Eric Cole and recent winner Ludvig Aberg are the frontrunners vying for the honor.

The PGA Tour has given the Arnold Palmer Award to its Rookie of the Year annually since Robert Gamez was the inaugural winner in 1990. Many a major champion have earned the honor – including the likes of Tiger Woods, Ernie Els, Jordan Spieth and Scottie Scheffler, to name a few – but a few of the winners may surprise you.

Meet all 33 winners of the PGA Tour’s Rookie of the Year Award.

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2023 midseason awards: Saints MVP, Comeback Player of the Year (so far)

2023 Saints midseason awards: Our picks for Team MVP, Most Improved, and Comeback Player of the Year (so far):

The New Orleans Saints are on bye this week, so it’s a good opportunity to take a look back at the first half of their season — well, the first 10 games. Honestly we’re past the midpoint on their schedule, but there are still seven games left to play (plus the postseason, hopefully), and the bye week is a great time to practice a little retrospection.

With that in mind, here are our staff picks for the Saints’ 2023 midseason awards:

  • Most Valuable Player
  • Breakout Player of the Year
  • Most Improved Player
  • Comeback Player of the Year
  • Rookie of the Year.

‘I’m focused on winning’: Chet Holmgren talks Rookie of the Year race

‘I’m focused on winning’: Chet Holmgren talks Rookie of the Year race.

A couple of weeks into the 2023-24 regular season, it looks like the Rookie of the Year race will be closer than most anticipated.

Heading into the season, San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama was the heavy favorite to win the award. The 2023 No. 1 pick had years of built-up anticipation heading into his rookie campaign.

The second-most talked about rookie heading into the year was Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren. After missing all of last season recovering from a Lisfranc injury, the 2022 No. 2 pick has been arguably OKC’s second-best player.

In eight games, the 21-year-old has averaged 16.8 points on 57.5% shooting, 7.9 rebounds and 2.5 blocks. He’s arguably had a better season thus far than Wembanyama, who’s averaged 18.8 points on 44.1% shooting, 8.5 rebounds and 2.4 blocks.

When asked about the Rookie of the Year award, Holmgren said that’s not his focus and is more worried about adding wins for the Thunder.

“We got a game at seven o’clock tonight, so that’s what I’m focused on,” Holmgren said during Friday’s shootaround. “Trying to win that game. That’s gonna be my focus coming into every single game day. Outside of that, I don’t have a whole lot of time for other things to worry about like that. I’m focused on winning these games and helping my teammates out.”

This is a very modest answer by the seven-footer as he clashes with a fellow seven-footer for the rest of the season. If Holmgren continues to have the same significant impact on both ends of the floor while the Thunder continue to win, he’ll have a very appealing case for the end-of-season hardware.

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How many Boston Celtics have been named Rookie of the Year – and who were they?

For a team as storied as the Boston Celtics are, there are surprisingly fewer than you might think.

With the Boston Celtics a contending ball club, they do not look to have any realistic candidates in the league’s annual Rookie of the Year award come the end of this season. But, they have had several winners of that honor in the past. Still, for a team that has won 17 titles — as much as any other team in the league’s seven-decade history — you would think they would have had more of them than three over the course of their storied history.

Particularly given much of the rosters that carried the Celtics to unprecedented success in the 1960s were home-grown talent either drafted or traded for in their first season in the league. Can you name the three Rookie of the Year winners Boston has been honored to roster over the years without looking?

Make your guesses, then scroll down to find out — extra Tommy points if you can name the season they won it as well.

Paul George picks Chet Holmgren as his Rookie of the Year winner

“I think he’s gonna play a ton. They’re gonna be a winning team. The way they play is gonna be fun to watch.”

The 2023-24 regular season will feature a prominent race for Rookie of the Year honors. The 2023 rookie class is headlined by Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson. It’ll also include 2022 No. 2 pick Chet Holmgren, who missed all of last season recovering from a Lisfranc injury.

While Wembanyama and Henderson might benefit from usage on their teams, Holmgren will have his status as a key piece on a likely playoff team to his advantage.

The Oklahoma City Thunder will enter the season with playoff aspirations after they went 40-42 last season and finished a win shy of a playoff berth.

On his “Podcast P” podcast, LA Clippers forward Paul Georges thinks this will help Holmgren’s case for Rookie of the Year. He explained why he thinks Holmgren will win the award.

“Imma go Chet. Just because I think he’s gonna play a ton. They’re gonna be a winning team. The way they play is gonna be fun to watch. So, I think he’s gonna get a lot of coverage. He plays both ends. He blocks shots. He’s a little bit more polished — further along I think than Wemby is. Because I think Wemby is gonna 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 gonna give him that much more of a head start. So Imma say (and) go say Chet. I think Chet is going to be the Rookie of the Year.”

Holmgren continues to earn praise from his colleagues. George praising him is a ringing endorsement considering he’s been one of the best players in the league throughout his entire career.

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