San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama has been named the NBA’s Rookie of the Year.
The 20-year-old forward/centre becomes the first Frenchman to win the Wilt Chamberlain Trophy in its 71-year history.
After receiving all 99 first-place votes from a media panel he becomes the first unanimous winner since Karl-Anthony Towns in 2016.
In the 2023-24 regular season, Wembanyama led all rookies in points (21.4), rebounds (10.6) and blocks (3.6) per game and also ranked fourth in assists (3.9) and second in steals (1.2) per game.
He is only the second rookie to lead the league in blocks per game in a season after Manute Bol in 1985-86.
Wembanyama becomes the third Spurs big man to earn the Rookie of the Year honour, following David Robinson (1989-90) and Tim Duncan (1997-98).
In a record-setting campaign, Wembanyama became the first player to average at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks in fewer than 30 minutes per game in a season.
He also became the first player to have at least 1,500 points, 700 rebounds, 250 assists, 250 blocks and 100 3-pointers made in a season.
Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren was one vote away from being the unanimous runner-up while Charlotte’s Brandon Miller took third place.
In a video to Spurs fans on the team’s social media channels, Wembanyama said: “I just heard the results for Rookie of the Year, so wanted to thank you guys again for this incredible season and the support throughout the whole year.
“It was incredible to be able to live this and I promise we’re going to be better, we’re going to work to win as soon as possible and give back the love.”
