Victor Wembanyama was unanimously voted NBA Rookie of the Year

Chet Holmgren chose the wrong year to become an NBA rookie.

The Thunder big man played brilliantly and would have been named rookie of the year in most seasons – but that's not the case in most seasons.

Victor Wembanyama is a phenomenon in his own right. After just one season, he makes us think he'll be the best player in the league in a few years, and in the GOAT conversation after about a dozen years. Those are unjustifiably high expectations, but that's exactly what Wembanyama's performance as a rookie did in the league.

Wembanyama was unanimously voted NBA Rookie of the Year.

Five players had previously been unanimously voted rookie of the year: Ralph Sampson, David Robinson (another Spur), Blake Griffin, Damian Lillard and Karl-Anthony Towns.

Holmgren came in second place, with 98 of the 99 voters placing him there. Brandon Miller of the Hornets was a distant third.

Wembanyama averaged 21.4 points and 10.6 rebounds per game, but more importantly, he was also a defensive force – finishing in the top three in Defensive Player of the Year voting as a rookie. Wembanyama got off to a somewhat slow start to the season – in large part because Gregg Popovich played him as a four-four alongside Zach Collins, and because Jeremy Sochan was experimenting at point guard. However, as the season progressed, Wembanyama found his comfort with the game.

Holmgren can take solace in the fact that he's still playing — he's the starting player on a Thunder team that will open its Western Conference semifinal series against Dallas on Thursday night. Holmgren's pick-and-pop shooting and rim protection in the paint will play a big role in this series.

At the start of the season, it looked like Miami's Jaime Jaquez Jr. would finish third in the voting (he was fourth), but his 3-point shooting and play declined in the second half of the season. While few fans saw Charlotte, Brandon Miller found his groove and showed why he deserved the No. 2 pick last June. At the end of the season, Miller earned third place. Derrek Lively II of the Mavericks and Brandin Podziemski of the Warriors also received some third-place votes.