Chet Holmgren has unquestionably emerged as the standout rookie thus far. Having navigated an injury season and a subsequent year on the sidelines, there may have been initial concerns regarding the potential hindrance this hiatus could pose to his performance upon return. However, it appears that the opposite holds true; Holmgren’s strategic decision to observe and learn during his time off has proven advantageous. His seamless integration into a team poised for progress and success is noteworthy, particularly considering he has exclusively played as a center, contributing 100% of his minutes in that role.
Remarkably, Holmgren’s ability to hold his own at center, despite his slender physique, affords him a distinct offensive advantage. The presence of a formidable team, complemented by an All-NBA point guard, further contributes to his overall effectiveness on the court. This doesn’t seem as if it will change and he’s holding up his part. The situation is clearly an advantage as well.
2. Victor Wembanyama
Victor Wembanyama finds himself within a team that, even in its optimal form, falls short of competitive standards and is, in fact, considered subpar. This team exhibits a lack of fervor for victory, evident in their unconventional player placements such as experimenting with Jeremy Sochan at point guard, a position incompatible with his skill set. Sochan has played 82% of his minutes at PG so far and this seems like a strategic choice appears intentional, aligning with the team’s apparent inclination towards tanking.
Wembanyama’s playing time has predominantly been allocated to the power forward position, constituting 81% of his minutes. While this deployment aligns with a team not actively pursuing victory, it does not position him for an offensive advantage where he could exploit matchups against slower opponents. Even with that said and the situations were completely flipped and Holmgren was on the Spurs and Wembanyama was on OKC I don’t think Wembanyama would have been as successful as Holmgren to this point. Holmgren is still converting on his shooting at a level I don’t think Wembanyama is capable of at this point, but the situation certainly helps.
Everyone Else
The supposed lesser Thompson, Ausar, drafted 2nd of the two has made more of an immediate impact, while interesting he’s not been efficient and playing on a bad team is facilitating the counting stats. : D. Lively (1.1), C. Wallace (1.0) and J. Jaquez (0.7) currently lead the class in win shares beyond Holmgren and are contributing effectively in more winning situations. Players like Marcus Sasser and Jaquez are older and should be more expected to help early.
