3 Reasons why Brandon Miller could win Rookie of the Year
By Adam Taylor
Brandon Miller will have less of a culture shock.
Victor Wembanyama received his basketball education in Europe, where they play a totally different style of basketball with some wide-ranging differences in rules – most notably when protecting the paint. There is less athleticism in those leagues, especially the French LNB Pro, which doesn’t rank among Europe’s top-tier competitions.
Wembanyama is going to have a culture shock during his rookie season. For Miller, he comes into the NBA with a little more knowledge of what to expect. College basketball has a wide-ranging level of talent, but there are some legitimate NBA athletes, some of whom will also be entering the league this year.
This isn’t to say that Miller won’t have his own set of pitfalls to navigate. Or that he enters the NBA with his eyes wide open. Every rookie has a learning curve, and it usually last about two seasons. Coming into the NBA from college versus coming into the NBA from one of Europe’s lower-ranked leagues is totally different, though. As such, it’s fair to assume Miller will have a slight advantage over Wembanyama in this regard – although an argument could be made that Scoot Henderson holds the greatest advantage here after spending last season with the G-League Ignite.