A rivalry that dates back to the 2021 FIBA U19 World Cup came full circle as Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren locked horns in the West Finals. The Spurs center overcame his loss five years ago and proved his domination. Meanwhile, the 111-103 loss in Game 7 has led to uncomfortable questions regarding the Thunder’s stars’ place in the league.

Holmgren finished the series with an average of 10.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.0 assists, and 1.1 blocks in 29.8 minutes per game. But the concerning stat for the 24-year-old came in Game 7 when he finished with just 4 points. Chet did not attempt any field goals after the first quarter. That’s how disappointing the performance was in the series decider. Analysts frequently claimed Holmgren looked mentally over-matched and uncomfortable when guarded by or matched up against Wembanyama.

Kendrick Perkins even said that the Thunder center was “a complete no-show” before highlighting the weakness that Wembanyama pounced on. “Wemby straight up not only punked him but he took his heart, he snatched his soul. Chet Holmgren was scared to compete. And now Sam Presti — he has real business decisions to make when it comes to Chet Holmgren. This is not an overreaction. This is facts,” concluded Perkins on SportsCenter. Another reason why the Wemby matchup remains in question is that Chet Holmgren performed in the previous two series.

Against the Lakers, he averaged 20 points per game with 12.8 average FG attempts. A similar story against the Suns when the 24-year-old dropped 17.3 points on 11 attempts per game. But in the Conference Finals against the Spurs, the average came down to just 7.6 attempts from the field and just 1.6 from beyond the arc.

Another concerning stat is that Holmgren allowed Victor Wembanyama to shoot 50% from the field (8-of-16 FG) as the primary defender through the first three games, while shooting 25% (1-of-4 FG) when guarded by the Frenchman. This has led fans to argue that Holmgren played “scared” and allowed Wembanyama’s historic defense to completely shut down his aggressiveness.

Not even 24 hours after defeat, Chet Holmgren is already part of trade deals

A netizen accumulated over 10.4 million views with the following tweet. “I understand Chet just wanna hoop but unfortunately he’s mentally gonna have to participate in whatever this is Wemby got going on with him.” Replying to this, a fan wrote “Yep” and uploaded the clip from the fourth quarter in Game 7, where a critical moment saw Holmgren hesitate on a drive against Wembanyama, lose his balance, and turn the ball over.

That clip and one-word response garnered over 5.5 million views. The series became highly personal, with Victor Wembanyama physically bumping and trash-talking Chet at every moment possible. A fan added, “Manhood on the line you can’t get lil bro’d this entire series”. After a separate physical finish over Holmgren late in Game 1, Wembanyama repeatedly yelled, “This is my sh–, this is my sh–!” directly at him. In Game 5, Wembanyama intentionally delivered a heavy shoulder bump to Holmgren as they walked toward their respective benches during a timeout.

With a sharp decline in performance and showcasing no sign of improvement, the trade talks have escalated. A fan wrote, “If I’m Sam Presti I’d explore trading Chet Holmgren this offseason. He brought nothing to the table this game 7 and with Wemby being in the west for a longtime I’d be gunning to get his contract off the books — he’s set to make $47.8M for the next 5yrs.”

He was selected second overall by the Thunder in the 2022 NBA Draft and has largely impressed during his time in Oklahoma City. Holmgren can protect the rim, finish plays, and stretch defenses. That’s definitely not enough for a player whose five-year, $239.25 million extension is set to kick in next season. Not just fans, but multiple analysts have proposed the idea of trading away Chet Holmgren to bring in Giannis. Even SGA couldn’t evade the question of changes in the roster.

“I will give zero input, I will let Sam Presti, the greatest GM ever, do his job.” Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on the offseason movements. While he may not take action, the front office will have to. And Chet Holmgren will have to prove himself again next year, irrespective of the matchup or the team he is part of.