2023-11-14 06:42:00
They say they don’t love each other. Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren, who will face each other next night for the first time in their young and promising NBA careers, know each other well and they already have reason to look at each other with suspicion. However, there is nothing to determine the nature of their relationship. Time will refine it and bring any possible enmity to light. The two most prominent rookies at the start of the season have their whole future ahead of them and are already so similar.
19.7 points versus 16.4, 8.8 rebounds versus 7.6 and finally 2.4 blocks versus 2.3, Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren are two heads ahead of the other rookies in the class. Oddly enough, or not, the duo is already winning a lot of votes among their peers. Both the Frenchman and the American receive only praise, gleaning the fruits of their characters which invite little or no easy criticism and ill-humour. Kevin Durant’s praise for Wembanyama was noted, that of the Warriors for Holmgren did not stand out.
Jokic encourages Holmgren to gain… fat
“He’s going to be a problem in the NBA for many years,” Draymond Green said. “Offensively, his versatility makes him difficult to manage for big and small guys,” said Stephen Curry while Nikola Jokic estimated that Holmgren, 88 kilos on the scale for 2.13 m (!) should take “ a little bit of fat.” No doubt the Serbian has other advice to give to an interior which already surprises with its maturity. Perhaps he is taking advantage of this “white” match season last year, but certainly no experience since he lived with the Oklahoma City group, while training with them on the last part of the season.
Victor Wembanyama was not in an NBA environment last year. If the structure around him was already reminiscent of the big league, the 19-year-old kid was martyring the French championship and is gradually discovering this new world, on the pitch but also off it. The numerous requests, the sequence of matches, the travel…
Wembanyama, unicorn or alien?
And yet, he also impresses with his maturity. We imagined him to be an excellent defender, he had failed in his first match from this point of view, jumping on everything that moved in the racket. His reading of situations already makes him a dissuasive weapon for Spurs. Another point in common that he shares with Chet Holmgren, whom he is barely ahead of in the average number of blocks per match (2.4 against 2.3). But both confirm that they are indeed unicorns (impactful in defense, capable of shooting from afar in attack), even if “Wemby” prefers to be called “alien”.
But then where is the difference made? After ten matches, it is obviously impossible to predict the rookie of the year trophy and determining which of the two has made the best start seems very difficult. We can note that one, Chet Holmgren, plays in a franchise, the Thunder, with six victories while the other only has three with the Spurs. The comparison could have its limits, but it has many virtues because it explains part of the difference between two kids who have known each other for a long time having already scrapped during the United States – France as youngsters, notably during the final of the U19 World Cup.
Why such a difference in media attention?
In OKC, Holmgren plays on a team that was already good without him, understand that it has players capable of shining alone or for others. And “Chet” takes full advantage of it. Where Wembanyama often has to fend for himself, he plays the role of an excellent, and frankly exceptional so far, finisher. At the Thunder, Holmgren shoots 54.9% including 50% on three-pointers, exceptional figures which should not last the season, especially for the second. In San Antonio, Wembanyama made 46% of his shots, including a small 31.3% from distance.
Victor Wembanyama
Credit: Getty Images
One of the two teams has structure and real leaders and they are certainly not the Frenchman’s Spurs. Additionally, with other real threats around him, Holmgren is less targeted than the Frenchman in defense, so much so that he benefits from more open and therefore less difficult shots. On the other hand, and this explains part of the imbalance in media attention, and not only in France, between the two, the dimensions and qualities of Victor Wembanyama make him a “unique product” in history. Conversely, Chet Holmgren seems “normal” next to him and he does, very well, what others have already done before him.
In pre-season, both had shone, scoring 21 points for the American and 20 for the Frenchman. Evolving in the same space, they were able to feel and challenge each other, without this going beyond the strict framework of the field and the game, or almost. “I know it’s only preseason, but it’s certain that the matches against OKC are going to be interesting,” concluded Wembanyama, never afraid to say what he thinks. The real first episode of the duel is for the night of Tuesday to Wednesday.
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