SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama has finally done it. He earned his first in-season award on Thursday afternoon.
The NBA announced Wembanyama as the Western Conference Rookie of the Month for January.
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The calendar flipping from 2023 to 2024 seemed to treat Wembanyama and the Spurs well. He averaged 24 points, 9.6 rebounds and an NBA-best 3.4 blocks in 14 January starts. Wembanyama not only posted his first triple-double in the NBA (16 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists and zero turnovers against Detroit on Jan. 10), he also had seven January games where he put up at least 20 points and 10 rebounds.
As of Thursday, Wembanyama’s season averages sit at a healthy 20.6 points and 10.1 rebounds.
The team also posted its best month of the season in January, winning five games, including a one-point win over the West’s current No. 1 seed Minnesota on Jan. 27.
The most fascinating note to come from the NBA’s announcement is Wembanyama being the first Spur to win Rookie of the Month since Dec. 2004. For a franchise boasting a recent draft history that includes the likes of Dejounte Murray and Kawhi Leonard, point guard Beno Udrih was the last San Antonio Spur to win Rookie of the Month honors.
Udrih -- who played 13 NBA seasons with the Spurs, Sacramento Kings, Milwaukee Bucks, Orlando Magic, New York Knicks, Miami Heat, Memphis Grizzlies and Detroit Pistons -- averaged 6.6 points and 3.0 assists in a largely reserve role in Dec. 2004. It was a modest month’s work for a player who became an NBA champion when the 2004-05 season was all said and done.
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