Kia Rookie Ladder: Chet Holmgren takes control of No. 1 spot – NBA.com

Oklahoma City's star big man moves to the top thanks to efficiency and his team's success.
Steve Aschburner
Chet Holmgren came up big in OKC's win against Golden State.
Victor Wembanyama, NBA rookie for the ages, isn’t going to go wire-to-wire after all here at the 2023-24 Kia Rookie Ladder.
San Antonio’s improbably long project player still leads the league in casual-fan fascination, but in terms of rookie performances that so far have been both efficient and effective, Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren has him beat through the season’s first four weeks. That’s why the Thunder 7-footer has grabbed the top rung in this week’s rankings.
Weekly recap
• Wembanyama still holds an edge in the “counting stats,” but there’s no denying the smooth and unflappable way Holmgren has filled the OKC void at center. Holmgren is a 50-40-90 shooter to this point, the gold standard for great NBA marksmen past and present (56.5% FG, 46% on 3-pointers, 90.7% FT, to be exact).
• Then there’s the winning. The Thunder are 10-4 with a five-game winning streak, while the 3-11 Spurs seem focused on landing the No. 1 pick again next June. Rookies don’t typically get judged on team records. But when the W-L gap is big, it’s a fair tiebreaker.
• The committee will let others debate the “redshirt rookie vs. true newbie” arguments to be made respectively about Holmgren and Wembanyama. Frankly, it seems a little silly, given all the differences among first-year players historically and recently. Good luck parsing the relative advantages and disadvantages of preps-to-pros vs. one-and-done vs. four years in college vs. overseas pro experience vs. NBA G League seasoning.
• Fans in Portland and Houston, as well as those who track the rookies overall, still are waiting for more from Scoot Henderson and Amen Thompson. The Draft’s No. 3 and No. 4 picks, respectively, have been sidelined since Nov. 1 by ankle injuries.
Storyline to watch
Most of you would be lying if you claimed to know anything about Cleveland’s Craig Porter Jr. before, oh, last weekend. He was an unsigned free agent who joined the Cavaliers on a two-way contract, a point guard from Terre Haute, Ind., who started at Vincennes University before logging three seasons at Wichita State. He turns 24 in February, and for what it’s worth, he apparently isn’t related to other NBA Porters such as Howard, Terry, Otto, Michael or either of the Kevins.
But he has been a terrific surprise for Cleveland over the past week. An insurance plan tapped due to Ricky Rubio’s and Ty Jerome’s absences, Porter scored 12 points against Detroit, rang up 21 against Denver and scored 12 at Philadelphia. He made 17 of his 28 shots, dished 18 assists and helped the Cavs win all three.
Prior to that? Six appearances, a total of 51 minutes and 19 points.
Latest ranking
(All stats through Tuesday, Nov. 21)
1. Chet Holmgren, Oklahoma City Thunder
Season stats: 17 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 2.6 apg
Last Ladder: 2
Draft pick: No. 2 (2022)
Come for that cool, turnaround, game-tying 3-pointer at Golden State, stay for the rest of Holmgren’s line that night. He wound up after his 37-minute stint with 36 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, hitting 14-of-22 shots with two steals and two blocks. The only other rookie in Seattle/Oklahoma City history to post comparable numbers: Kevin Durant in 2007-08.
2. Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs
Season stats: 18.6 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 2.6 bpg
Last Ladder: 1
Draft pick: No. 1
The Spurs’ big man put up weekly numbers in line with his season production, along with 3.3 blocks. But he shot 40% and 22.2% from the arc. His plus/minus kept going in the wrong direction, too. He’s at -114 through 14 games, compared to Holmgren’s +73 over the same period.
3. Ausar Thompson, Detroit Pistons
Season stats: 11.3 ppg, 10.1 rpg, 3.2 apg
Last Ladder: 3
Draft pick: No. 5
Still filling up a variety of stat-sheet categories — including fouls. He averaged 5.0 for the week and leads the NBA with 55. He needs to be as aggressive with his offense as he’s been on defense, earning some bench time in Cleveland for that very reason.
4. Jordan Hawkins, New Orleans Pelicans
Season stats: 13 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.1 apg
Last Ladder: 4
Draft pick: No. 14
He helped the Pelicans to 2-1 week vs. Nuggets, Wolves, Kings. Shooter from UConn has been consulting some of the league’s great marksmen (such as Stephen Curry, Kyle Korver and Ray Allen). He recently told The Athletic: “To be great, you’ve got to learn from the greats that came before you.”
5. Dereck Lively II, Dallas Mavericks
Season stats: 8.6 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 1.2 bpg
Last Ladder: 5
Draft pick: No. 12
The young Mavs center averaged 4.0 offensive rebounds last week. He has been +3.5 for his team this season, even as the Dallas defense has sunk to 25th in defensive rating (118.2).
The Next 5:
6. Brandon Miller, Charlotte Hornets
Season stats: 13.6 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.9 apg
Last Ladder: 6
Draft pick: No. 2 overall
Scored 29 vs. NYK but -7 in defeat. Scored nine vs. Celtics, +22 in victory.
7. Bilal Coulibaly, Washington Wizards
Season stats: 8.5 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 1.9 apg
Last Ladder: 9
Draft pick: No. 7
Shot 57.9% (57.1% from arc) last week, earned praise from key Bucks.
8. Jaime Jaquez Jr., Miami Heat
Season stats: 9.6 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2.3 apg
Last Ladder: 7
Draft pick: No. 18
Earning big fourth-quarter minutes, scored 19 vs. Bulls in a bounce-back game.
9. Keyonte George, Utah Jazz
Season stats: 8.5 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 5.4 apg
Last Ladder: 8
Draft pick: No.16
Jazz point guard has more responsibility than most rookies, but seeks efficiency.
10. Craig Porter, Jr., Cleveland Cavaliers
Season stats: 7.1 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 2.7 apg
Last Ladder: Not ranked
Draft pick: Undrafted
Two-way guy gets injury minutes: 15 ppg, 60.7% FG in three victories.
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Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter.
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