It’s no secret that the NBA has officially entered a new era. At the forefront are two former No. 1 draft picks, Anthony Edwards and Victor Wembanyama. Their sneaker sales are proof of their surging popularity. As basketball and sneaker culture go hand in hand, these two young stars are in a head-to-head with Ant representing Adidas and Wemby with Nike.

Amid his epic playoff run, Ant-Man decided to drop a slimmed-down version of his Adidas AE 1. Currently, his ‘salmony’ shoe is sold out and selling at a 22% increase of its retail price. However, the reigning Rookie of the Year is not far behind. Nick DePaula wrote on X, “Nike is launching Victor Wembanyama’s first PE release today at 10 AM EST — a GT Hustle in “extraterrestrial tones and galactic greens” with the Alien logo and a glow-in-the-dark bottom.”

The word among the patrons of the sneaker revealed it sold out within minutes! Carolina Teague attests to just that writing, “Tried to buy Victor Wembanyama’s Nike shoe 3 minutes ago. Shoes in my size are completely sold out in 2 minutes. Multiple shoes are sold out. Boys were removed from the Nike SNKRS app. SOLD OUT IN TWO MINUTES! Absolutely freaking insane.”

This goes to show the extent of Wemby’s fame just in year one. While this also does add a lot of pressure on him to perform consistently, his rookie season went beyond anybody’s expectations. A closer inspection of his stats will actually reveal the insanity and the rarity.

Dissecting Victor Wembanyama’s rookie season

Throughout the season, Wembanyama averaged 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 3.6 blocks per game. He surpassed all NBA rookies in scoring, rebounding, and blocks per game. What’s more, is that he even led the entire league in blocks as a rookie eliminating the competition. Walker Kessler holds second place with 2.4 blocks, a staggering 1.2 blocks behind the Spurs youngster!

Victor Wembanyama’s rookie success is best highlighted by his PER (Player Efficiency Rating), a statistic created by John Hollinger of The Athletic. It measures a player’s offensive performance per minute, including field goals, free throws, 3-pointers, assists, rebounds, blocks, and steals.

In the 2023-24 season, Wembanyama’s PER of 23.1 ranked 15th among all qualified players, surpassing stars like Jayson Tatum, Donovan Mitchell, and Devin Booker.

Historically, his PER ranks even higher among NBA rookies, with his rating being the third-best ever, trailing only Wilt Chamberlain (28.2), David Robinson (26.3), and Michael Jordan (25.8). So will his sophomore season be even better? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.