CBS Sports Coins Oklahoma City Thunder Center Chet Holmgren Current Rookie of the Year Leader

After 16 games, the Rookie of the Year race is nowhere near decided, but CBS Sports weighed in on the debate to give the Oklahoma City Thunder's headlining rookie a leg up.

A battle of two 7-foot rookies is certainly not the usual script NBA fans are used to seeing, but whether they were ready for it or not, it's happened. 

And for Oklahoma City Thunder fans specifically, they're likely pleased with the results thus far. 

Between Chet Holmgren and Victor Wembanyama, the Thunder's rookie has a much different-looking situation. In San Antonio, a 7-foot-4 rookie is the unanimous first option. The Spurs' offense runs through him, and if he doesn't perform, the young team has virtually no chance of winning, especially given the fact that they've lost 12 in a row with him. But in Oklahoma City, the situation is much different. 

Holmgren – a 7-foot-1 "rookie" — isn't the Thunder's first option. The offense doesn't run through him, and if he doesn't perform, Oklahoma City still has a strong chance of winning. But that doesn't mean he hasn't been performing.

"It's still too early to take a definitive stance on Rookie of the Year," CBS Sports wrote in its recent rookie analysis. "Yet ... Holmgren is out in front right now. His incredible 36-point performance on the road against the Golden State Warriors, in which he hit an absurd game-tying triple to send it to overtime, was his best performance to date, and of course, he did it with elite efficiency." 

Holmgren's impressive outing against the Warriors wasn't the only one of its kind, either. Holmgren registered seven blocks in an early-season outing against the Cleveland Cavaliers, and 24 points during the Thunder's first go-round with the Warriors. He's proven time and time again his worth on both ends of the floor, and he's still developing, which makes him even more impressive. 

"Holmgren just keeps improving each game," CBS Sports continued. "And he's fit seamlessly onto an OKC team that suddenly looks like a serious threat in the Western Conference." 

That checks out. The Thunder currently sits at No. 2 in the Western Conference and looked extremely strong during its six-game win streak. That was ended by the Philadelphia 76ers just one game ago, but even the loss was competitive. 

Oklahoma City has a chance to get back on track against the Minnesota Timberwolves, and if things continue to trend the way they have been for the NBA's second-youngest squad, it'll likely be a strongly showing from both it and Holmgren.

And if Holmgren continues to perform on both ends of the court the way he has been, he'll only strengthen his case for Rookie of the Year honors. 

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