Chet Holmgren reflects on losing the Rookie of the Year race to Wemby: "It just comes down to who has more voters that believe in their side of the criteria"

Victor Wembanyama was named the 2024 NBA Rookie of the Year, but Oklahoma City's Chet Holmgren had an equally impressive maiden season in the NBA.

Wembanyama finished the season with averages of 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and a league-leading 3.6 blocks per game, but he did so while playing for a Spurs team that was a measly 22-60 and never had a shot at contending for a playoff spot. Meanwhile, Holmgren put up a stellar 16.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 2.3 blocks per game, starting all 82 games for an OKC team that finished as the top seed in the Western Conference.

During his appearance on the Road Trippin' podcast , Holmgren was asked if he thought he should've won the ROY award over Wemby, considering his situation in OKC.

"That's just such a difficult, loaded question," replied Holmgren. "I mean to sit here and say 'if this,' 'if that,' talk about situations, yes our situations were different, like polar opposites."

The winner in the eyes of the beholder

Chet explained that statistics aside, one could make a case for both him and Wemby to win Rookie of the Year based on their different predicaments. Holmgren talked about factors like the players on their teams, the amount of attention given to their squads, and what their teams were actually playing for.

However, while you could make a case for both him and Wemby using those arguments, there are no specific criteria to determine the winner of the NBA's end-of-season individual awards. Because of that, it's all up to the eye of the beholder.

"It just comes down to who has more voters that believe in their side of the criteria, I guess," added Holmgren. "I don't think Wemby was unfair in winning Rookie of the Year or anything. Like I mean, all credit to him for a great season and everything. And you know, we're not rookies anymore."

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Wemby got all 99 First Place votes

The 22-year-old Holmgren was the No. 2 overall pick of the 2022 NBA Draft but missed his true rookie season with a Lisfranc injury he suffered during a summer Pro-Am game. Meanwhile, Wemby was the most-hyped draft prospect since LeBron James and was taken first overall in last year's draft by the San Antonio Spurs.

While Wembanyama enjoyed being the No. 1 option on a losing team, Holmgren had to make do with playing alongside an All-NBA first-team star in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and a rising star in Jalen Williams, who took more shots than him in the Thunder offense. Despite contrasting scenarios, the difference in their numbers wasn't that much.

But when it was time to vote, not only did Wemby beat Chet, but he did so overwhelmingly. The Frenchman took all 99 first-place votes to become the first unanimous winner since Karl Anthony-Towns in 2015-16. The tally, however, did not reflect how competitive the race should have been if their contrasting situations were considered.

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