Dereck Lively II vs Victor Wembanyama vs Chet Holmgren: Which rookie 7-footer had the best NBA career start?

The 2023-24 NBA season was off to a great start, with rookies like Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren making their much-anticipated debuts. Inevitably, fans started drawing comparisons as to which players made a strong first impression.

Among the rookies, however, it was Dereck Lively II who caught everyone by surprise . Coming off the bench for the Dallas Mavericks, Lively was a sparkplug for the team. He had 16 points, ten rebounds, and a block in his first game. The 7-foot-1 center made a name for himself as one of the biggest draft-day steals.

Holmgren, on the other hand, played in his first NBA game against the Chicago Bulls. It was a team effort that allowed the Oklahoma City Thunder to defeat the Bulls, who had a players-only meeting after their loss. Holmgren had 11 points, four rebounds, and three assists in his first-ever game.

In the season opener for the San Antonio Spurs, Wembanyama had quite the game himself. He was in foul trouble early on, which allowed the Mavericks to be aggressive in attacking the rim. The French big man had 15 points, five rebounds, and two steals against Dallas.

Now that we've seen how they performed for their respective teams in their debuts, which player among the three had the best start?

You might also be interested in reading this: Watch: Victor Wembanyama steals alley-oop from his own teammate

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Victor Wembanyama was outperformed by his fellow rookie

Both Lively and Wemby played their first game against each other. Many expected Victor Wembanyama to dominate, as the Mavs are known as a team that lacks a frontcourt presence. The former Duke center proved that wrong and made hustle plays against the Spurs in his first game.

No one expected Lively to steal the show as the attention was on Wembanyama. Additionally, he was picked 12th in this year's NBA Draft. Compared to the 7-foot-4 center, fans of the Mavs rookie don't have a ton of expectations. That's usually been the case in the league. The higher a player gets drafted, the higher the expectations are for that player.

Lively's superstar teammate, Luka Doncic, had high praise for him.

"He didn’t seem like a little bit nervous. He played f**king amazing." Doncic said.

Meanwhile, Holmgren was picked second overall by the Thunder in the 2022 NBA Draft and fans are expecting him to be just as good as the Wemby.

Luckily for the debutants, the season has 82 games, which will give them a chance to adjust themselves to the pace of the league. This will also be a test of how well they can keep up with the veteran players, who have been doing this for years. The end of the season will probably offer a better picture as to which rookie enjoyed the best start to his NBA career.