The San Antonio Spurs secured a hard-fought 111-103 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals on Saturday, despite strong resistance from reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Unfortunately, the Thunder needed more in order to take down the Spurs and All-Star center Chet Holmgren was nowhere to be found.
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In the biggest game of the season, he finished with just four points, four rebounds, two steals and two blocks on 1-of-2 shooting from the field.
While most bad playoff games are the result of rough shooting night’s, Holmgren outright refused to challenge Victor Wembanyama at the rim when he had the ball.
On the first few possessions of the matchup, he missed a floater before sinking a midrange jumper. He did not take another shot for the rest of the game.
When he got more touches and opportunities, he looked completely uninterested in being aggressive with the ball. His passiveness was a major detriment to the Thunder, who couldn’t keep up with San Antonio’s hot shooting down the stretch.
When he actually tried to get some offense going, it wasn’t pretty.
Before the game even ended, fans online were calling for OKC to put Holmgren on the trade block. It’s unfair to write off a player after one bad performance, but it doesn’t bode well for a player on his contract to be outplayed by Wembanyama the entire series.
Holmgren is supposed to be OKC’s answer for a player of Wembanyama’s size and abilities. With him consistently being outmatched in that battle, there may now be a higher chance that the Thunder move him.
In fairness, OKC was missing two major shot-creators in Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell. Their absence made scoring harder for Holmgren, who was now tasked with creating his own shot instead of having those looks created for him.
Ultimately, the Thunder still have a championship-level roster. With a surplus of draft capital, they could theoretically move Holmgren in a blockbuster move for an interior force like Giannis Antetokounmpo.
They could also keep him and make a few smaller roster moves in an effort to stay below the second apron. Regardless of what happens, Holmgren has set himself up for a long summer of questions and uncertainty.
James Parker is a sports writer for Ball Exclusives, follow him on X @TheJames_Parker
