NBA Rookie of the Year (ROY) 2024: Top 5 candidates ft. Keyonte George (Week 20)

The 2024 NBA Rookie of the Year race has become one of the most exciting contests that basketball fans have been monitoring. Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren are making it a thrilling battle as the regular season winds down. While the two are seemingly going nowhere, there are some changes in the top five ladder.

For the first time in a long while, a new name has been added to the mix of weekly first-year best performers. A guard from the Utah Jazz was superb in week 20 to earn a spot on the list. Perhaps he will make his name a mainstay if he sustains the way he has been performing.

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Top-five contenders for the NBA Rookie of the Year award for week 20

#5 Keyonte George

• Last week: Games played 3 (1 win - 2 losses )
• Season: 57
• Last week: 20.0 PPG, 3.7 RPG and 3.3 APG
• Season: 12.3 PPG, 4.4 APG and 2.8 RPG

Keyonte George makes his debut on the weekly NBA Rookie of the Year rankings. He had a stellar performance in week 20. George showed why the Utah Jazz are so excited for him when he had a team-high 29 points against the Denver Nuggets. He also had a team-best 31-point output versus the Miami Heat. Although both were losses, he is turning out to be the point guard Utah can build around.

Brandin Podziemski also had a solid case but the Golden State Warriors lost 126-113 on Saturday to the San Antonio Spurs that didn’t have Victor Wembanyama. George takes over Podziemski’s spot in the weekly NBA Rookie of the Year ladder.

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#4 Jaime Jaquez Jr.

• Last week: Games played 4 ( 1 win 3 losses)
• Season: 57
• Last week: 13.8 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 2.3 APG and 1.5 SPG
• Season: 12.9 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 2.6 APG and 1.1 SPG

Jaime Jaquez Jr. had 25 points in the Miami Heat’s thrilling 107-100 loss to Chet Holmgren and the OKC Thunder on Friday. He also had an impact with his energy, hustle and defense. But, the Heat lost 110-108 to the reeling Washington Wizards on Sunday. Jaquez had six points, seven rebounds, two steals and two blocks.

The former UCLA standout deserves the fourth spot in week 20 of the NBA Rookie of the Year race.

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#3 Brandon Miller

• Last week: Games played: 4 (1 win - 3 losses)
• Season: 57
• Last week: 22.0 PPG, 7.0 RPG and 2.3 APG
• Season: 16.0 PPG, 4.2 RPG and 2.3 APG

Some analysts believe Brandon Miller is closer now to Chet Holmgren than the Oklahoma big man is to Victor Wembanyama. Miller hasn’t looked back since Terry Rozier was traded to the Miami Heat and LaMelo Ball was sidelined with another injury. Hornets coach Steve Clifford has given him the green light to do almost anything he wants.

Miller has been playing like a franchise cornerstone and deserves to be third on the weekly NBA Rookie of the Year rankings.

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#2 Chet Holmgren

• Last week: Games played: 5 ( 4 wins - loss)
• Season: 63
• Last week: 13.0 PPG, 7.8 RPG and 2.6 APG
• Season: 17.0 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 2.7 APG and 2.5 BPG

Chet Holmgren has firmly established himself as part of the OKC Thunder’s Big 3. With the former Gonzaga star playing his role well, Oklahoma has surged to the top of the Western Conference standings. The Thunder will need him to sustain his form to make noise in the playoffs. If not for the San Antonio Spurs rookie, he would have long sat on top of the NBA Rookie of the Year weekly ladder.

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#1 Victor Wembanyama

• Last week: Games played: 2 (1 win - 1 loss)
• Season: 56
• Last week: 20.5 PPG, 11.5 RPG, 6.5 BPG and 4.5 APG
• Season: 20.7 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 3.4 APG, 3.4 BPG and 1.3 SPG

A right ankle injury cut what might have been another superb week from the French phenom. It seems like only an injury can contain his ever-growing game on both ends of the floor. In the win against the Indiana Pacers on Monday, Victor Wembanyama had 31 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, six blocks and one steal.

“Wemby” still has trouble with bruising big men like Alperen Sengun of the Houston Rockets. San Antonio’s rookie allowed the Turkish international to hang a career-high 45 points on him. Still, it was a hiccup that was not enough to dislodge Wembanyama from ruling another NBA Rookie of the Year weekly ranking.