NBA All-Rookie Team Announced with Wembanyama and Holmgren Leading the Pack
Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs emerged as the unanimous selection for the NBA's All-Rookie team this season, as revealed by the league on Monday. Wembanyama's stellar performance also secured him the unanimous vote for Rookie of the Year, with a panel of 99 voters endorsing his standout debut season in the league.
Joining Wembanyama on the prestigious first team are Chet Holmgren of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Brandon Miller of the Charlotte Hornets, Jaime Jaquez Jr. of the Miami Heat, and Brandin Podziemski of the Golden State Warriors.
Holmgren, despite being the runner-up to Wembanyama for Rookie of the Year, also earned unanimous first-team honors. Miller, Jaquez, and Podziemski rounded out the first team, corresponding to their standings in the Rookie of the Year balloting.
Dereck Lively II of the Dallas Mavericks headlines the second team alongside Amen Thompson of the Houston Rockets, Keyonte George of the Utah Jazz, Cason Wallace of the Oklahoma City Thunder, and GG Jackson II of the Memphis Grizzlies. Jackson narrowly edged out Trayce Jackson-Davis of the Golden State Warriors for the final spot by a single vote.
The anticipation continues as the league prepares to unveil the All-Defensive team selections on Tuesday and the All-NBA team on Wednesday. Wembanyama is highly anticipated to secure a first-team All-Defensive placement, having ranked second in the Defensive Player of the Year race behind Rudy Gobert of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Should Wembanyama earn a spot on either the All-Defense or All-NBA team, or both, he would achieve a significant milestone as the first rookie to do so since San Antonio Spurs legends Tim Duncan in 1998 and David Robinson in 1990.
Notably, only five rookies in NBA history have been selected for the All-Defensive team, including Duncan, Robinson, Manute Bol (Washington Bullets, 1986), Hakeem Olajuwon (Houston Rockets, 1985), and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Milwaukee Bucks, 1970).
Furthermore, if Wembanyama secures a spot on the All-NBA team, he would join an elite group of 22 rookies in NBA history to achieve this feat. Remarkably, only four rookies have accomplished this in the last 45 seasons, namely Duncan, Robinson, Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls, 1985), and Larry Bird (Boston Celtics, 1980).
