SAN ANTONIO — Around Oklahoma City, the message was always the same: Chet Holmgren will be fine. Months had passed since the Thunder were eliminated by the Spurs in the Western Conference finals, since Victor Wembanyama eviscerated Holmgren so badly it spawned questions as to whether a rivalry between the two 7-footers ever really existed. Skeptics sprouted like pigweed, threatening to break through any cracks in Oklahoma City’s foundation. They found none. “We need Chet,” Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said after last season. Added coach Mark Daigneault, “I’m riding with him.”
Oklahoma City knocked off San Antonio in its season opener on Tuesday and make no mistake: Holmgren was the best big man on the floor. His numbers were solid (14 points, seven rebounds, four blocks) but they only told part of the story. The rest was on the defensive end, where Holmgren spearheaded the suffocating defense that held Wembanyama (1-for-13 from the floor) to the worst shooting game of his career.
