NBA Rookie of the Year (ROY) 2024: Top 5 candidates ft. Victor Wembanyama (Week 25)

The last week of the 2024 NBA Rookie of the Year race finally came to an end. With all teams playing their 82nd regular season game, the freshmen of the 2023 draft class also submitted their cases for the Wilt Chamberlain Trophy. The two rookies who have dominated this list will likely end up as the No. 1 and No. 2 contenders for the said award.

Victor Wembanyama might be the unanimous choice if only the San Antonio Spurs had been winning. But, with the Spurs finishing with one of the worst records in the NBA, Chet Holmgren’s numbers might be more relevant to voters. Still, the two have unquestionably made this competition their playground.

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Top-five contenders for the NBA Rookie of the Year award for Week 25

#5 Jaime Jaquez Jr.

• Last week: 4 games (3 wins - loss)
• Season: 75
• Last week: 11.8 PPG, 4.0 APG and 3.5 RPG
• Season: 11.9 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 2.6 APG and 1.0 SPG

The Miami Heat needed an all-hands-on-deck approach last week to try and nail a guaranteed playoff spot. They failed to get the job done but Jaime Jaquez Jr. had a stellar week. His best game was against the Toronto Raptors on Friday when he fell an assist short of a double-double. Miami’s rookie did what he wanted against their opponents’ decimated roster.

He is No. 5 in the final week of the NBA Rookie of the Year ladder.

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#4 Brandin Podziemski

• Last week: 4 games (3 wins - 1 loss)
• Season: 74
• Last week: 8.5 PPG, 5.5 RPG and 2.3 APG
• Season: 9.2 PPG, 5.8 RPG and 3.7 APG

Like the Miami Heat, the Golden State Warriors were also pushing to move up in the standings. The Dubs desperately wanted to get out of the play-in tournament but couldn’t do so. Brandin Podziemski gave a good accounting of himself in Week 25, though.

Golden State had a tougher schedule than Miami so Podziemski gets the nod at No 4 for the weekly NBA Rookie of the Year rankings.

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#3 Brandon Miller

• Last week: 3 games (1 win - 2 losses)
• Season: 74
• Last week: 17.5 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 2.5 APG and 1.0 SPG
• Season: 17.3 PPG, 4.3 RPG and 2.4 APG

Brandon Miller continued his strong showing to finish his rookie season with a flourish. He has validated his status as the No. 2 pick of the 2023 draft since mid-February. The Charlotte Hornets should be thankful to Michael Jordan for picking him instead of Scoot Henderson.

Miller deserves the No. 3 spot in the weekly NBA Rookie of the Year race.

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#2 Chet Holmgren

• Last week: 4 games (4 wins - 0 loss)
• Season: 82
• Last week: 14.8 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 1.8 APG, 1.0 SPG and 1.5 BPG
• Season: 16.5 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 2.4 APG and 2.3 BPG

Chet Holmgren had an unbeaten Week 25 to help the OKC Thunder to the top of the totem pole in the Western Conference. He played his 82nd game of the season against the Dallas Mavericks, the only rookie to play every game. After questions of durability hounded him all season, he has proven that he is built for the tough grind.

He is deserving of the No. 2 spot in the weekly NBA Rookie of the Year race.

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#1 Victor Wembanyama

• Last week: 2 games ( 2 wins - 0 loss)
• Season: 71
• Last week: 26.0 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 5.5 APG and 4.5 BPG
• Season: 21.4 PPG, 10.6 RPG, 3.9 APG, 3.6 BPG and 1.2 SPG

Victor Wembanyama may have put an exclamation point to the NBA Rookie of the Year race with an incredible performance against the Denver Nuggets. “Wemby” led the crippled Spurs to a stunning 23-point comeback win versus Nikola Jokic and the defending champs. Insane expectations were put on his shoulders since Day 1 and he blasted through every one of them.

The Frenchman is deserving of the No. 1 spot in the weekly and even entire race for the NBA Rookie of the Year award.

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