No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama has smashed through the supposed "rookie wall," making for a fascinating Rookie of the Year race as of the All-Star break.
The notion of the rookie wall is that first-year players, unaccustomed to the grueling NBA schedule, start to struggle once they pass their smaller games played totals from shorter prep, collegiate and other pro leagues. Wembanyama matched the 34 games he played in the French Pro A regular season on Jan. 15, just before our last rookie rankings. Since then, all Wembanyama has done is average 22.6 points, 9.5 rebounds, 3.