This past season, the OKC Thunder finished as the top seed in the Western Conference standings and advanced toward their first playoff run since the 2020 Lake Buena Vista bubble.
Though the majority of attention and credit for these successes were directed toward superstar guard and MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, it's undeniable that the heights reached could not have been achieved without his strong supporting cast, and leading the charge on that front as either the second or third-best player (depending on who you ask) was Chet Holmgren.
After sitting out his entire first season due to a foot injury, the big man burst onto the scene in 2023-24 for what was a magical campaign.
From his floor spacing skills to his elite rim-protecting abilities, Holmgren was a stud contributor for the Thunder right from the jump and, frankly, in almost any other season, he would have been the clear choice to come home with the league's illustrious Rookie of the Year award.
Unfortunately for him, however, this past season also witnessed another mesmerizing big showcase his talents on the NBA stage, as the number one pick in the 2023 Draft, Victor Wembanyama, proved to be a stat-sheet stuffer through 71 games played with the San Antonio Spurs, as he wrapped his year-one off with stellar averages of 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 3.6 blocks per night.
In the end, the French phenom ultimately came away with the ROY hardware, edging out Holmgren in the polls by a whopping 200 points.
Now, while it's hard to claim that Wembanyama didn't deserve to earn such a moniker with his unbelievable production, many have made the case that Holmgren was robbed of the award himself, as his numbers, though slightly lesser across the board, actually paved the way toward success while Wemby's were rather empty, with San Antonio winning a mere 22 games.
OKC Thunder star Chet Holmgren sets record straight on ROY race
During a recent appearance on the Road Trippin' podcast, the Thunder stud was asked about his feelings on this exact sentiment, and, while he rightly feels he was worthy of winning the race, he admittedly acknowledged that it's such a complex situation as a whole.
"You can come up with 50 pros and cons for each of us on things outside of statistics. Completely random things from who's on our team, what we're playing for, what amount of attention is placed on us. We can come up with a million different things for each of us as to try and skew decisions. At the end of the day, what is the criteria? This is my thing with all NBA awards, what is the criteria. It's all in the eyes of the beholder... It just comes down to who has more voters than believe in their side of the criteria I guess. I don't think Wemby was unfair in winning Rookie of the Year or anything. All credit to him for a great season and everything. We're not rookies anymore, so, like, "Chet Holmgren
As noted earlier, Holmgren put forth a first-year campaign that, in virtually any other scenario, would have likely had him easily securing the Rookie of the Year award. Through 82 games played, the Thunder big went on to average an incredible stat line of 16.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 2.3 blocks while shooting 53.0 percent from the floor and 37.0 percent from distance.
On top of this, in matchups against Wembanyama's Spurs, Chet would continue to see sensational production, as he averaged 14.5 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.3 blocks on 48.8 percent shooting from the floor through four games, and saw Oklahoma City pull away with a 3-1 season series win.
Despite all his accomplishments and aiding in winning ways, in the end, the voters decided to cast their ballots toward Wembanyama, and it's hard to argue against their decision.
All Holmgren and Thunder fans can do now is gear up for what is hoped to be many more years of entertainment and success with Holmgren improving his on-court craft and growing as a player to help lead the franchise to their first-ever championship, something they currently have the second-best odds of doing come next season.
Wembanyama's Spurs, on the other hand, are way down on the list with the 21-best odds of doing so (+15,000), slotted right ahead of the most recent owners of the tops selection in the 2024 NBA Draft, the Atlanta Hawks.