SAN ANTONIO – Just hours after being named the 2024 NBA Rookie of the Year on Monday, Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama thanked everyone from arena ushers to teammates in a heartfelt Instagram post.
The French phenom was announced as the unanimous winner during TNT’s playoff game preshow on Monday evening. He averaged 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 3.6 blocks per game in his rookie season.
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While San Antonio finished with the fifth-worst record in the league, it was a special season for Wembanyama.
“I would’ve never been able to do this alone,” he posted on Instagram. “This one is for my teammates, for the entire staff from trainers to coaches, from the chef at the cafeteria to the ushers at the arena every night, for the Spurs organization, for the best fans in the world having our back winning or losing.”
“And last but not least for the city of San Antonio, I found a home here. Thank you all.”
Wembanyama is the third Spurs player to win the honor, after David Robinson in 1990 and Tim Duncan in 1998, who were also No. 1 overall picks.
“My goals were always to help my team as best as I could and get better as the year went on,” Wembanyama said from San Antonio on TNT after the award was announced. “I knew in order to do this I had to be individually good on the court and dominant. So, it was a huge thing for me and a big thing to get. It’s always been really important and I’m glad it’s finally official.”
Wembanyama is also a top-3 finalist for Defensive Player of the Year. The winner is scheduled to be announced on Tuesday.
The 2023 No. 1 overall pick is the first player in NBA history to be selected as a finalist for the league’s Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year awards.
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