The narrative for the Oklahoma City Thunder was clear as they entered Game 7: Someone had to step up with Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell to win the championship.
That one could easily have been Chet Holmgren. It had to be, I mean. The 7-foot-1 big man was a third-team All-NBA selection and finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting. Only Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has scored more points for OKC this season.
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It’s hard to emphasize enough how badly that idea worked.
His rivalry with Victor Wembanyama may have been a boxing match, as Holmgren did nothing in the game that decided the Thunder’s season. He finished with 4 points on 1-of-2 shooting (two shots!) with 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks and 2 turnovers.
He had moments defensively, but OKC needs a lot more from a big man willing to defend in Game 7. Furthermore, both of those shots came in the Thunder’s first four possessions. He made a step-back jumper after deciding to challenge Wembanyama in the paint. He missed a float from Wembanyama waiting for him in the basket.
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And then he didn’t take the gun until the end of the game.
That doesn’t mean he didn’t get the ball. He just avoided doing anything about it while the Wembanyama was still coming. And the few times he tried something, like in an iso with his team down five points in the fourth quarter, the results weren’t…
Maybe it’s unfair to expect Holmgren to do something he hasn’t done all season. He is a shooter and a finisher, not a creator. With Williams and Mitchell out, OKC’s biggest problem in Game 7 was an offense that didn’t know what to do when Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t have the ball. Holmgren has never been a football player and this wasn’t exactly the best place to try it.
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However, we need to remember two things.
For one, this is a player who is often portrayed as a foil to Wembanyama, a near-absurd freak of the 7-foot-4 Frenchman with the handles of a guard. They should be rivals, and one of them decided it wasn’t worth even trying to go toe-to-toe in the biggest game of the season.
Second, Holmgren signed a five-year, $239 million extension last year that will take effect next season. If he can’t be anything, anything, for the Thunder against the Wembanyama-era Spurs, there may be some re-examination to do in Oklahoma City.
Trade speculation was rife on social media before the game ended. It could be a long season for the Thunder, who are already dealing with the mindset of a young team that could extinguish their future, just like OKC did to other West contenders last year.
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No one player should have his future judged by just one game (though this wasn’t a good overall streak for Holmgren before Saturday, either). It’s just a sign of how disastrous Saturday was that a rival trading a 24-year-old All-NBA defensive anchor is in the conversation.
