Fans and analysts alike wonder of who will win rookie of the year, as many are torn between Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs and Chet Holmgren of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The clear winner of this debate, however, is the greatest prospect since Lebron James: Victor Wembanyama.

Wembanyama, the first overall pick in 2023 NBA draft, is currently leading rookies in points, rebounds, and blocks. While Holmgren is second to Wembanyama, what makes Wembanyama’s performance all the more impressive is his age and experience gap. Holmgren is both a year older and has had a year of “red shirt” NBA experience.

Though Holmgren was injured all last season, he had an extra year to get used to NBA travel, enjoy an NBA diet, watch NBA film, and get to know and learn from his teammates. These are key values of becoming comfortable in the NBA that Wembanyama is just recently getting exposure to in his first season in the league.

Wembanyama already has had a historical performance as well. According to Yahoo Sports, during the San Antonio Spurs first matchup with the Denver Nuggets, Wembanyama became the first player (not rookie) in NBA history to rack up 22 points, 11 rebounds, six steals, and four blocks in under 30 minutes. What makes this even more notable was that he did it all in just 25 minutes!

Teams are also a factor in determining a players skill and efficiency. There is more than a substantial gap between the skills of Wembanyama and Holmgren’s teams. While Holmgren has the luxury of playing on the number one team in the Western Conference, Wembanyama is stuck on the worst team in that conference. Yet, Wembanyama is still able to put up MVP worthy numbers in games played despite a horrific supporting cast.

Holmgren is also fortunate enough to have very skilled teammates such as Shai Gilgeious Alexander, Josh Giddey, and Jalen Williams. On the other hand, Wembanyama is the only real superstar on his team and has to play with people who would most likely be role players off the bench at best on any other team. In fact, NBA fans make fun of the Spurs starting “point guard” Jeremy Sochan, who is actually a power forward playing out of position; it’s laughable how ineffective Sochan has been at getting Wembanyama the ball.

Holmgren does have Wembanyama beat in one aspect, that is the ability to shoot more efficiently. According to SI.com, as of November 26, 2023, Holmgren has been able to shoot an impressive 56.4% from the field, 43.8% from deep, and 88.1% from the line. This beats Wembanyama’s shooting efficiency in every way, more drastically beyond the three point line with Wembanyama only shooting 26.7% from beyond the arc. With these stats and Holmgren’s 17 points per game, it is clear to see that while given the luxury to be on arguably the best team in the league, Holmgren is still a key component to the Thunder’s performance. Though, Holmgren being on a great team helps his efficiency a lot, while Wembanyama has to perform with all of the defense’s attention.

While Holmgren’s shooting performance is impressive, Webanyama is trailing right behind him. Over this season, Wembanyama has been shooting a stunning 46.5% from the field, per ESPN. Recently, he has been on fire, shooting over 50% from the field! What makes these applaudable stats even more impressive is that Wembanyama is still in his true rookie year and is also a year younger. Again, his horrific supporting cast is holding his shooting efficiency. With this, it is evident that both Wembanyama’s recent and overall field goal percentage is far more accomplished than Holmgren’s.

Both of these player are putting up extremely impressive rookie performances, whether they truly are rookies or not. Alongside this, both Homgren and Wembanyama are going to change the league in the future with their skill and size. Though, their career rivalry will begin with Wembanyama winning Rookie of the Year.