"All in the eye of the beholder" - Chet Holmgren compares his ROTY case with eventual winner Victor Wembanyama
Chet Holmgren had an excellent rookie season with the OKC Thunder. Despite putting up great numbers, the Thunder center failed to win the Rookie Of The Year Award, losing to much hyped-up rookie from France, Victor Wembanyama.
However, for the Thunder center, these two of the rookies were in different conditions and their situations could not be compared. Moreover, Holmgren also added that there were so many factors that could have been weighed in each other’s favor.
"Our situations were different. Like polar opposites," Chet Holmgren said on the 'Road Trippin' show. "You can come up with 50 pros and cons for each of us on things outside of statistics. Just completely random things like who is on our team, what we are playing for, how much attention is placed on us. You can come up with a million things for each of us to try to skew decisions."
"But at the end of the day, what is the criteria? It's all in the eye of the beholder," he added.
The OKC Thunder was the best team in the Western Conference and the San Antonio Spurs were the second-last in the West.
In his rookie season, Chet Holmgren averaged 16.5 points on 53.0% shooting from the field and 37.0% from the three-point line. Holmgren also had excellent defensive numbers averaging 7.9 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game.
On the other hand, Wembanyama averaged 21.4 points on 46.5% shooting from the field and 32.5% shooting from beyond the arc. However, it was his superiority on the defensive end that was the deciding factor for his win.
He averaged 8.4 rebounds and 3.6 blocks (highest in the league) per game for the San Antonio Spurs.
Chet Holmgren opens up about being paired with Isaiah Hartenstein
The OKC Thunder landed Isaiah Hartenstein this offseason, adding a crucial piece to their roster.
Hartenstein signed a three-year, $87 million deal with the Thunder. The addition of this new player will give the Thunder not only height but also a center they desperately needed after last season.
Chet Holmgren showed that he can become a great rim protector and with the addition of the former New York Knicks player, this will only give them another rim protector.
Ahead of the pairing with the former Knicks big man, Holmgren remains hopeful that they can figure out how to help their team next season.
"We don't know what we'll look like," Chet Holmgren said in an interview with NBA TV. "We're gonna figure out how to be the best version of ourselves for sure."
Hartenstein can become one of the best backup centers in the league. He can be mixed up with the second unit and also share the responsibility of blocking shots. The German center also believes that his pairing with Holmgren will be a deadly combination.
“Me and him on the court together, I think it's going to be very deadly, so I'm excited about that,” Hartenstein said in his introductory press conference.
Last season with the Knicks, Hartenstein averaged 7.8 points on 64.4% shooting from the field. He also averaged 8.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.1 blocks per game.