Chet Holmgren should have won Rookie of the Year, according to Richard Jefferson.
A hot take considering the Thunder’s big man was in the room
The Road Trippin’ Show, hosted by Richard Jefferson, Channing Frye and Allie Clifton, calls itself “the premiere podcast for entertaining and insightful NBA stories told directly by your favorite players.”
The trio has a podcast and video is posted on YouTube (and I am sure all other sorts of social media), and earlier this week, they had guest Chet Holmgren with them to discuss a variety of topic.
Hot on Richard Jefferson’s mind was to tell Holmgren — and everyone else for that matter — that he had supported the former Gonzaga Bulldog for this season’s Rookie of the Year honors.
In explaining why Hologram was a more deserving Rookie of the Year than Victor Wembanyama:
“I know the pressure that it comes with when you’re on a team that is battling and competing for something every single night. To do that as a rookie in 82. My beliefs were if you would have been on the San Antonio Spurs, the numbers that you would have put up would have been equally as ridiculous.”
Holmgren’s “rookie” campaign (he missed his true rookie season after being drafted 2nd overall in 2022) yielded 16.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.3 per game. He ranked fifth in the league behind Wemby, Walker Kessler, Brook Lopez, and Anthony Davis.
By comparison, Wembanyama averaged 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds and 3.9 assists, and a league-leading 3.6 blocks per game.
Wembanyama took the Rookie of the Year award after receiving a landslide 99 first-place votes and 495 points, but Holmgren finished in second place with 295 total points.
Mr. “The” Jefferson, it’s one thing to bolster your guest, but to create a hot take supported by an obscure comparison to make it sound remotely viable is pushing it.
Notice how Holmgren did everything to avoid taking the bait? It seems there isn’t any animosity in where he landed. After all, he made it to the playoffs in his rookie season.
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