Richard Jefferson: Chet Holmgren’s numbers would’ve been ‘equally as ridiculous’ as Wemby’s if he were on Spurs

Richard Jefferson — who won the only title of his NBA career back with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016 — argued that Oklahoma City Thunder big man Chet Holmgren would have put up stats similar to what Victor Wembanyama put up if he had played for the San Antonio Spurs during the 2023-24 campaign.

“I know the pressure that it comes with when you’re on a team that is battling and competing for something every single night,” Jefferson said when explaining why he thought Holmgren should have won the Rookie of the Year award over Wembanyama. “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.”

After missing the entirety of the 2022-23 campaign with a foot injury, Holmgren appeared in all 82 games for the Thunder during the 2023-24 regular season and averaged 16.5 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists per contest in his maiden NBA season.

But for as much as Holmgren contributed as a scorer and rebounder, arguably his most impactful attribute as a rookie was his knack for defending the rim. He averaged 2.3 blocks per game, which ranked as the fifth-most of any player in the league behind only Wembanyama — who averaged a league-high 3.6 rejections — Walker Kessler, Brook Lopez and Anthony Davis.

Conversely, Wembanyama averaged 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game for a Spurs team that won just 22 of its 82 regular-season games and finished with the second-worst record of any team in the Western Conference. The Portland Trail Blazers ended up at the bottom of the Western Conference standings with a record of 21-61.

Wembanyama took home the Rookie of the Year award after receiving 99 first-place votes and 495 points, but Holmgren finished right behind the Frenchman in second place with 295 total points. Charlotte Hornets youngster Brandon Miller totaled 86 points to round out the top three.

While Wembanyama won the Rookie of the Year award in a relative landslide, Holmgren was able to experience the NBA Playoffs for the first time in 2024 while Wembanyama’s Spurs failed to qualify.

Oklahoma City’s stint in the 2024 NBA Playoffs came to an end after the team lost to the Dallas Mavericks in the second round, but Holmgren averaged 15.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game across 10 playoff games with the Thunder.

It should be entertaining to witness Wembanyama and Holmgren face off against each other in the Western Conference for years to come.