Great post from RealGM comparing Chet and Wemby for ROY

[Im Still Ballin]

Had to share it. Has some great stuff in it.

Mid-season update



Last 15 games of both (because Wembanyama started to play as a center on December 8th):



Defensive metrics:

[Im Still Ballin]

Continued:

Holmgren without SGA:



Wembanyama as a center/as a power forward



Wembanyama with regular point guard (Tre Jones):



1. So far, Holmgren has been better this year, but while he maintains consistent level - Wembanyama has improved rapidly since he started to play as a center at the beginning of December. Comparison of his numbers as a PF and C are a bit inflated due to fact he started simultaneously to play with Tre (only 'regular' point guard on Spurs' rotation), the difference of his defensive metrics (4.3 vs 2.2 blocks per 30 minutes) is insane. Basically, he played out of position for 20 games or so.

2. While Holmgren doesn't get bigger offensive volume while playing without SGA - it's not true (although it's mid-sample size) that his efficiency depends on playing alongside SGA as his averages are basically the same with/without Shai with positive net rating (what's in line with other numbers suggesting his ~top30/top40 impact at least).

3. While Holmgren is borderline All-NBA D candidate with those metrics - Wembanyama looks like a tier better defender (although obviously his crazy D net is inflated by Spurs being much worse defensively than Thunder), but as a rookie he has the best combination of raw boxscore numbers (BLK, SPG, DReb%) and more advanced (net rating, DFG%, DFG% at rim, BPM, EPM) stats in the league, probably.

4. Wembanyama was 'punished' by Spurs and Pop experimenting with weird lineups (Sochan as a point guard/Wembanyama as a power forward), because since he started to play as a center with more minutes alongside Tre, he's pretty much All-Star level player on minutes restrictions on pretty bad team, even his raw numbers in this span 21-11-4-4 on 59TS% are crazy.

5. Holmgren overall is borderline allstar as well - he's 19th in BPM, 12th in EPM, +3 on/off on top2 SRS team, even if you punish him for role player-offensive usage, he's still near prime Al Horford level considering his defensive impact and vertical/horizontal spacing he provides (he's worse 1v1 defender and passer than Horford, but better rim protector and shooter). I'd give an edge to prime Horford, but Chet isn't far away in terms of two-way impact.

Verdict?

So far, Holmgren is ROTY; we'll see if he can improve in the latter part of the season as it's quite obvious now that Wemby will get better and better unless Pop starts to experiment again; while Holmgren is great prospect on his own - Wemby is consistent jumper and better team away from being a superstar. Now, imagine him improving passing, creating his own shot and face-up/low post skills. His combination of defensive skills (as a rookie, he's 4th in terms of DRB% among players playing bigger minutes and second in BLK%, now imagine him getting 10-20 pounds of muscle) and offensive upside is - as advertised - historically unparalleled.

[elementally morale]

Oops. I posted a thread about the two of them at around the same time you posted. Didn't see this one. Sry.

[90sgoat]

Wemby with more turnovers than assists, that's not great. He does still seem to struggle with his passing, but not for lack of understanding, seems more to do with mechanics.

[highwhey]

here comes the nerd with his millionth thread about wemby