OKLAHOMA CITY — Grabbing the rebound, Chet Holmgren forced Zach Collins to commit a shooting foul. After more than a year’s wait, the 2022 No. 2 pick’s first points at OKC came at the free-throw line.
The mundaneness surrounding his first points didn’t detract from the specialness of Monday’s 122-121 win over the San Antonio Spurs for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Buy Thunder TicketsThough it was just the first preseason game, the atmosphere inside Paycom Center felt different. The return of Holmgren along with this game also serving as 2023 No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama’s debut created an unprecedented feeling for the exhibition matchup.
This was the first of countless matchups between the two giants. Holmgren and Wembanyama headline this season’s historic rookie class — and for good reason. Both enter the league riding several years of hype that already made them household names.
This is the first time both seven-footers shared the floor since the 2021 U19 FIBA World Cup. Since then, the anticipation surrounding both has only grown.
This first round between the two top-two picks likely gets scored as a draw. Both Holmgren and Wembanyama were superb and showed off why they’re both members of the next great generation of players.
“I played against him a couple of years ago in FIBA,” Holmgren said about his first game against Wembanyama. “It’s really cool to see players from across the world be connected through the NBA. I plan to play a long time and I’m sure he does too, so it’ll be no choice but to go back and forth.”
Even though both Holmgren and Wembanyama received all of the hype for the preseason opener, plenty of other Thunder players also shined in the one-point win.
Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault played all 17 available players. The preseason serves as an opportunity for a head coach to experiment in an inconsequential game environment.
Other Thunder standouts include Josh Giddey and Jalen Williams. Both had their moments in the first half and it was exciting to see how they meshed with Holmgren for the first time in an NBA game. Davis Bertans also shined in the second half as he provided OKC with four 3-pointers and deep range.
This game also marked the debut for Cason Wallace, who drew the start after Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was ruled out for rest. He had a quiet stat line of two points, five rebounds and three steals. But even without the stats, Daigneault raved about Wallace and noted how seasoned of a player he looked on the court.
“He’s a winning player. He’s tough, smart. Plays inside the team. He lets the game tell him what to do,” Daigneault said. “He looked like that was his 100th game.”
For the Spurs, Wembanyama was their best player. In 19 minutes, he had 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting and five rebounds. When the ball reached him, all eyes in the arena focused on the 19-year-old and he delivered. The 7-foot-4 center played with grace and handled the ball with elegance usually associated with guards.
Collins had 15 points, five assists and five rebounds. Malaki Branham had 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting.
Both teams’ offenses hummed along. The Thunder scored a franchise-record 74 points in the first half — the most for a preseason game. The second half was a different story as the production wasn’t nearly the same due to the reserves playing the entire final two quarters.
Let’s look at Thunder player grades.
Chet Holmgren: A-plus
Holmgren’s home debut went about as perfectly as it could’ve.
The 2022 No. 2 pick played his first game in front of the OKC crowd and was electric in the first half. In 16 minutes, he finished with 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting, nine rebounds and one block.
The 21 points represent a franchise record for most points scored by a Thunder rookie in his preseason debut. That is a pretty big achievement considering who has played in OKC.
The seven-footer scored in a variety of ways that included fancy finishes around the rim and as a traditional lob threat. He also showed off his outside stroke as he went 2-for-2 from 3, which included a sequence where he and Wembanyama exchanged 3-pointers.
Despite a foot injury delaying his debut for over a year, Holmgren quickly reminded fans and the league why he was viewed as one of the better prospects in recent memory.
Even though all of the outside noise billed this game as the “Wemby vs. Chet” fight, Holmgren didn’t let it influence him and simply viewed it as a preseason game between two young and exciting teams.
“That’s something that you can really get baited into,” Holmgren said. “It tends to happen to young players sometimes. I feel like Vic — as well as myself — did a really good job at understanding that this isn’t the Vic vs. Chet show.”
Pick and pop! 💥 pic.twitter.com/y8qECAhd7s
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) October 10, 2023
Jalen Williams: B-plus
It was a slow start for Williams’ preseason debut, but an electric second quarter quickly served as a reminder as to how good last year’s Rookie of the Year runner-up is.
In 18 first-half minutes, Williams finished with 12 points on 4-of-12 shooting and four rebounds. He oddly struggled from the free-throw line, going 3-of-7 — an uncharacteristic percentage considering he shot 81% last season.
Even though Williams started 1-of-8 from the field, the shooting in itself is an encouraging sign. Several of his misses were unlucky bounces on 50/50 shots, which makes the poor shooting number easier to understand.
In the second quarter, the 22-year-old found a groove. In the final three minutes, he had a pair of dunks and hit a stepback 3 to end his night on a high note.
A great deal of talk has focused on Williams taking more offensive responsibilities considering his scoring talent. If it means sacrificing some of his efficiency from last season, then that’ll be a means justified by an end.
Getting to the rim with force 😤 pic.twitter.com/osAcU09Zx3
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) October 10, 2023
Josh Giddey: B-plus
Giddey was another Thunder starter who didn’t suit up for the second half. In 18 first-half minutes, he finished with 10 points on 5-of-12 shooting and five assists.
Without Gilgeous-Alexander, Giddey had the keys to OKC’s offense. He utilized the reps to work on his two-man game with Holmgren, which conjured positive results as the two paired for a wing 3-pointer from Holmgren off a Giddey whip pass.
Both will likely spend significant minutes on the court together this season, so it was important to get their first taste of playing with each other since last year’s summer league.
Through the zone and on target 🎯 pic.twitter.com/iQO0Dq6wJg
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) October 10, 2023
Dort with the drop off to Giddey 🤝 pic.twitter.com/Q4Yn3GyzBs
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) October 10, 2023
Davis Bertans: B-plus
During Thunder shootarounds Monday morning, Bertans mentioned he hopes his career 42.9% from 3 on 6.1 attempts at OKC carries over to his tenure with the team.
“Hopefully it’s the building,” Bertans joked on his 3-point shooting success at OKC. “We got 41 regular-season games in here so hopefully it’s the building.”
Well, one game in — granted it’s preseason — it’s been a success.
After sitting the first half, Bertans started the second half on fire. He made three 3-pointers on the wing in the opening four minutes. The 30-year-old’s range was quickly on display in his debut for the Thunder.
In 10 minutes off the bench, he had 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting from 3. Those are some really efficient scoring numbers on minimal usage that’ll quickly skyrocket Bertans in OKC’s rotation if he continues to do so.
