Chet Holmgren answers Wembanyama ahead of NBA rematch

Chet Holmgren has rejected the idea that his meeting with Victor Wembanyama is a personal rivalry, while making clear that Oklahoma City’s previous defeat has shaped his preparation. The Thunder centre says the lessons from that series will be useful against every opponent, not only San Antonio.

The Spurs and Thunder will open the new NBA season in Texas in a repeat of last season’s Western Conference finals. San Antonio won the decisive seventh game to reach the NBA Finals for the first time since Wembanyama joined the team. Wembanyama was also the league’s best defender last season and the Western Conference finals MVP.

Their contrasting production in that series remains part of the build-up. Wembanyama averaged 27.3 points, compared with 10.7 for Holmgren, and finished Game 7 with 22 points and seven rebounds. Holmgren managed four points and four rebounds in that deciding contest.

The Oklahoma City big man, selected second in the 2022 draft, said it took him several weeks to process the elimination and the feeling of falling short after the team’s work. He has since maintained the same intensity in training and points to the quality of both young squads. Holmgren has also declined to engage with claims that Wembanyama criticised him, leaving that issue for the Frenchman to address.