Victor Wembanyama’s block fee is thoughts blowing — and he’s only a rookie

(The information on this submit was compiled via 1/30/24)

One space of Victor Wembanyama’s sport I discover fascinating are his blocks. Past the truth that he leads not simply rookies however the whole league in blocks, probably the most mind-blowing stat I got here throughout in my analysis concerning his possibilities at Rookie of the Yr is that he might truly be racking up extra.

The chart beneath plots all gamers who’ve performed a minimum of 500 minutes this season and compares their variety of contested photographs vs. blocks. I’ve included Wemby’s stats for the season in addition to his splits whereas he was on the 4 vs. the 5 spot within the lineup. I additionally included labels for gamers who rank within the high 5% in both blocks or contests.

The one participant to common extra blocks per 36 minutes this season is Walker Kessler, who has taken a step again offensively in comparison with his rookie 12 months final season however has improved his numbers on the defensive finish. Nevertheless, if we solely have a look at Wemby’s numbers since beginning at middle, he takes the cake. It’s totally insane far how forward he’s in terms of the tempo at which he blocks photographs. Simply evaluate it to the flip facet, the place Dwight Powell and San Antonio’s very personal Zach Collins contest loads of photographs however battle to give you blocks.

At Victor’s present fee, if he was in a position to recover from 15 contests per 36 minutes (just like Chet, Kessler, and Lopez), he would have an estimated 5.48 blocks per 36 minutes. Given his present minute allotment, that may take him from 3.2 blocks per sport to 4.26! The one different gamers with over 4 blocks per sport within the trendy period are Dikembe Mutombo, Hakeem Olajuwon, Manute Bol, and Mark Eaton.

Whereas we may be salty in regards to the lack of respect for what Wembanyama is reaching this 12 months, in the long run, even he has expressed his significance to easily simply be the perfect he may be. There are many hall-of-fame gamers who’ve a number of championships that weren’t rookie of the 12 months. I additionally suppose rings, MVPs, and all-NBA groups are going to be the awards he’s extra centered on. So don’t be shocked if, as talked about in my earlier submit, they decide Chet for ROTY for an arbitrary cause, it merely acts as gas for the hearth and that is only the start for the breathtaking performances from Victor Wembanyama. And probably some Defensive Participant of the Yr awards as properly.