Victor Wembanyama returns to the No. 1 spot in this week’s Kia Rookie Ladder.

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The old show biz saying, “Always leave them wanting more,” is in full play for Victor Wembanyama these days.

The less he plays, the better he seems to do, a big reason he climbs atop the Kia Rookie Ladder this week.

Wembanyama doesn’t like the minutes restriction his bosses in San Antonio have slapped on him. The Spurs don’t much like it either, short term at least, but they are committed to erring on the side of caution with a healing ankle that he first sprained before Christmas.

Fans certainly would like to see more of the No. 1 pick than the 26-minute limit he has had for the past six games. At least the 7-foot-4 Frenchman, who turned 20 last week, has been cramming those minutes with production.

Pro-rated to 36 minutes, Wembanyama has averaged 33.1 points, 11.1 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 6.5(!) blocks over the half-dozen games. Case in point: He had 24 points, 10 boards, three assists and five blocks Sunday at Cleveland. The Spurs lost by two points but Wemby was a +17 while playing less than 25 minutes.

Weekly recap:

• Chet Holmgren, the Oklahoma City center who has vied with his Spurs counterpart all season for the Ladder’s top rung, was no slouch last week. He averaged 20 points, including 31 at Washington Monday when the Wizards looked determined to test his range. But he dipped to 4.3 rebounds and 1.0 blocks. Holmgren did snag the West’s Rookie of the Month honors for December, while Miami’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. was similarly named in the East. No other rookies have won the awards this season.

• Wembanyama still ranks fourth in playing time (29.2 minutes per game) among this season’s rookies. But if he were to be voted Rookie of the Year award at that average, it would be the fourth fewest minutes by any winner. Only LaMelo Ball (28.8 in 20021), Malcolm Brogdon (26.4, 2017) and Mike Miller (29.1, 2001) played less.

• Not pushing too hard on that ankle seems to have shown up in Wembanyama’s shot selection: He averaged 6.5 3-point attempts last week, while making only 30.8% of them. Jordan Hawkins (5.7), Brandon Miller (5.4) and Keyonte George (5.3) lead this class overall.

Storyline to watch:

Head-to-heads. The schedule Wednesday night sets up almost as a “rookie watch party.” Eight of the Ladder’s 10 rung-holders potentially will be in action in the slate of 10 games. That includes Holmgren vs. Jaquez in the battle of West vs. East Rookies of the Month from December, and Wembanyama vs. Detroit’s Ausar Thompson. Only Dereck Lively II and Scoot Henderson have the night off with Dallas and Portland both idle.

Latest rankings

(All stats through Tuesday, Jan. 9)

1. Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs

Season stats: 19.3 ppg, 10.1 rpg, 3.3 bpg
Last Ladder: No. 2
Draft pick: No. 1

The kudos caravan continues for the Spurs’ phenom, with a couple of Cleveland Cavaliers adding their praise to Wembanyama’s growing list of glowing reviews. “He’s as advertised,” Donovan Mitchell said. “He’s already a defensive monster. I’ve already played with Rudy [Gobert]. To see someone bigger and longer than him, I think it’s pretty wild.” Said Jarrett Allen: “I’m excited for Wemby because he’s talented, takes people off the dribble, is an excellent shot blocker, posts up. He has it all.”

2. Chet Holmgren, Oklahoma City Thunder

Season stats: 17.8 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 2.6 bpg
Last Ladder: No. 1
Draft pick: No. 2 (2022)

Only Boston and Minnesota have better records to this point than the Thunder (24-11). Holmgren said their young team has found the sweet spot between playing too cautiously vs. making reckless mistakes. “Everybody’s trying to make the right play out there and still be aggressive within that,” he said. “There’s a tipping point where you’re trying to make too many right plays and you’re not out there playing with force.”

3. Jaime Jaquez Jr., Miami Heat

Season stats: 13.7 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.7 apg
Last Ladder: No. 3
Draft pick: No. 18

Jaquez earned that second consecutive Rookie of the Month award by averaging 16.1 ppg and helping the Heat to an 8-5 mark in December. He ranks second in shooting percentage (50.7%, 10.5 field goal attempts per game) among rookies averaging double digits in attempts in shooting percentage.

4. Brandon Miller, Charlotte Hornets

Season stats: 14.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 2.2 apg
Last Ladder: No. 4
Draft pick: No. 2 overall

Ranks third in scoring among newbies, second in field goal attempts (12.9) to Wembanyama (15.8). But impressing teammates with two-way work. Said Miles Bridges: “It doesn’t even feel like he’s a rookie. He knows the insides and outs of the game. He plays with amazing pace, which is not something that a rookie plays with.”

5. Brandin Podziemski, Golden State Warriors

Season stats: 9.2 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 3.3 apg
Last Ladder: No. 6
Draft pick: No. 19

A bigger role may be possible due to Chris Paul’s hand fracture, though he sputtered against the Raptors Sunday (2-of-11 overall and 1 for 8 on 3-pointers for five points). Ranks fourth among guards in offensive rebounds (45), behind only Russell Westbrook (57), Jrue Holiday (52) and Josh Giddey (49).

The Next 5:

6. Dereck Lively II, Dallas Mavericks

Season stats: 8.7 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 1.3 apg
Last Ladder: No. 5
Draft pick: No. 12

Another stretch of injury absences (left ankle sprain), seven in past 13 games.

7.  Keyonte George, Utah Jazz

Season stats: 11 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 4.5 apg
Last Ladder: No. 7
Draft pick: No. 16

Slow going post-ankle layoff, but sure perked up at Milwaukee.

8. Scoot Henderson, Portland Trail Blazers

Season stats: 12.1 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 5.0 apg
Last Ladder: No. 8
Draft pick: No. 3

We can see the progress, though lessons can still sting.

9. Ausar Thompson, Detroit Pistons

Season stats: 8.3 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 2.1 apg
Last Ladder: No. 9
Draft pick: No. 5

Are severe minute cuts the best way for a struggling team to develop lottery picks?

10. Jordan Hawkins, New Orleans Pelicans

Season stats: 10.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.4 apg
Last Ladder: Not ranked
Draft pick: No. 14

All about opportunity: 11.2 FGA through Oct/Nov, 5.3 in Dec/Jan.

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Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.

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