NBA – After the Wemby snob, Jacques Monclar bluntly:
“It’s not…
Despite a promising start on the NBA floors, Victor Wembanyama was not rewarded by the league after the first month of his rookie season. A choice which caused a reaction in France, and in particular Jacques Monclar on the set of NBA Extra.
From a purely statistical standpoint, he serves as the leader in several notable categories among rookies. Victor Wembanyama indeed displays the best average in his class in terms of scoring (19.3 points), rebounds (9.7), blocks (2.7) and interceptions (1.3). Enough to suggest that he is making encouraging first steps across the Atlantic and that he is in a good position to be elected Rookie of the Year.
However, he does not appear to be the only high-profile novice so far. On the Oklahoma City side, Chet Holmgren also showed himself very well in his first matches in the NBA. His good averages of 17.6 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game also allow his franchise (13-6) to play leading roles in the West. A fact which undoubtedly weighed heavily in the recent choice of the league.
Jacques Monclar cash on the award of Rookie of the Month
Like every year, the NBA waits until the beginning of December to award its first monthly awards. That of Rookie of the Month for the Western Conference was thus awarded… to Holmgren, which caused debate in the United States, but also in France. Invited to speak about the snobbery reserved for Wembanyama in NBA Extra, Jacques Monclar for his part did not give it much importance:
Victor is two years younger than Chet Holmgren, so there is some logic there as well. And then I’ve always said that if he’s not voted Rookie of the Year, I don’t really care. It’s not something that concerns me. The most important thing is that he manages to make his team win a few games. I’m not saying to win 30 or 25, but at least to do as well as last year when they won 22.
Afterwards, obviously the percentage is not admissible. 43% against 53% (for Holmgren) at 2 points, the mass is said! Not to mention the 27% at 3 points.
If he justifies this decision by Wemby’s mediocre skill, but also by the collective results of Holmgren and the Thunder, Jacques Monclar does not forget to point out the difference in context between the two young talents:
There is a collective game in OKC while – sorry to say this about a team coached by Gregg Popovich – there is nothing in San Antonio, except a few balls over the defense and 2-3 other things. Nothing referent. (…) Holmgren is required to play clean at all times. And then it’s “redacted.” When you have Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, it’s still better than Jeremy Sochan to lead the game.
For Jacques Monclar, Victor Wembanyama has little interest in dwelling on the title of Rookie of the Month which has just escaped him. It would be better for him to concentrate on the game and the success of his team, which really needs it at the moment.
