A fierce 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. And it is safe to say that the San Antonio Spurs‘ cornerstone has overcome his loss from five years ago and proven his dominance in the NBA. Surely, the Spurs don’t look back from here. But the Game 7 111-103 loss has raised some uncomfortable questions about Holmgren’s place on the defending champions’ roster.

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. He had only four points in a game where Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was desperate for help. The big man never made any field goals after the first quarter! That’s how disappointing he was. Many have claimed that Holmgren looked mentally exhausted when up against Wemby.

Kendrick Perkins went on record, saying the Thunder center was “a complete no-show,” before boldly highlighting that Wemby may have just proved that the No. 2 pick from the 2022 draft isn’t the long-term solution in OKC’s winning strategy.

“Wemby straight up not only punked him but he took his heart, he snatched his soul,” Big Perk said on ESPN. “Holmgren was scared to compete. Sam Presti has real business decisions to make… This is not an overreaction. This is [a] fact. Wembanyama is not going anywhere. With that being said, you gotta find somebody who’s going to be that dude, especially in times when injuries happen, you saw J-Dub being out. You gotta go find a guy like Giannis Antetokounmpo that’s gonna come in and move the needle and be able to go toe-to-toe in some capacity with Wembanyama, because Chet Holmgren ain’t it.”

NBA legend Reggie Miller called out Holmgren on air, saying, “He hasn’t even attempted a shot in this second half, you’ve got to be kidding me.”

Another reason why the Wemby matchup remains hot is that Holmgren performed decently in the previous two series. Against the Lakers, the big man averaged 20 points, launching nearly 13 from the field every game. It was a similar story against the Suns when the 24-year-old dropped 17.3 points on 11 shot attempts per game. But in the Conference Finals, that average came down to just 7.3 attempts from the field and just under two attempts from beyond the arc.

Another concerning stat is that Holmgren allowed Wemby to shoot 50 percent (8-of-16 FG) as the primary defender through the first three games, while shooting 25 percent (1-of-4 FG) when guarded by the Frenchman. This has led fans to argue that Holmgren was “scared” and allowed his rival to completely shut down his aggressiveness.

There were multiple moments of tension between the two of them. It started in Game 1, when Holmgren appeared to play dirty, trying to stamp the Alien’s foot while rebounding a free throw. Wemby almost tripped, but didn’t pay too much attention to the antics. Then came Game 2, where OKC crossed a line with Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein literally locking into the Frenchman’s arm or shoulder, not allowing him to move. But the refs never called anything.

Games 3 and 5 were tough ones for Wemby, and fans questioned his ability to handle pressure. Cameras panned to the Thunder bench on numerous occasions, with them giggling at San Antonio’s misery. But all they did was ‘poke the bear’. The Spurs came back hard in Games 6 and 7. And with respect to the Wemby-Holmgren rivalry, the Frenchman mercilessly threw down a two-handed dunk in Holmgren’s face in the first quarter last night.

Things changed after that dunk.

The Thunder star was no longer the same, and there are thousands of tweets capturing his petrified looks. NBA reporter Erik Slater described the situation best, saying that Chet had “left SGA on an island.” After the game, Holmgren was asked about his rivalry with Wemby, but he gave a PR-friendly response.

“At the end of the day, it’s about us trying to win a basketball game,” Holmgren said. “The Thunder [are] trying to win a basketball game.”

On the other hand, Wemby hasn’t held back when speaking about his rival. Earlier this season, after blowing out OKC, Wemby sneakily mentioned that he was proud to be part of “pure and ethical basketball” at the Spurs. When asked to expand on that thought, the 22-year-old spoke smartly about tactics. But in reality, what everybody was implying from his initial statement was that it was a shot at OKC, whose foul-line tactics are criticized by fans as “unethical.”

ESPN Insider Mark Spears also hinted that “Wemby is motivated by Chet” because the latter won a championship last season. And the Frenchman ended up winning that battle comprehensively. Holmgren, though, isn’t in the best place with his fans.

Not even 24 hours since the Game 7 defeat, Chet Holmgren is being shipped out by trade deals

A fan accumulated over 10 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,” a netizen pointed out. In response, a fan wrote, “Yep,” and uploaded a clip from the fourth quarter of Game 7, showing a critical moment when Holmgren hesitated on a drive against Wembanyama, lost his balance, fell, and turned the ball over.

That clip and one-word response garnered over 5.5 million views! And it turned out to be sentiment largely on the internet. The series became highly personal, with Victor Wembanyama physically bumping into and trash-talking Chet at every opportunity.

A fan added, “Manhood on the line you can’t get lil bro’d this entire series.”

After a physical finish over Holmgren late in Game 1, Wemby repeatedly yelled, “This is my s***, this is my s***!” directly at him.

Then, in Game 5, Wemby intentionally delivered a heavy shoulder bump to Holmgren as they walked toward their respective benches during a timeout… The Frenchman was subtly getting into Holmgren’s mind as the series progressed. But now, with a sharp decline in performance and no sign of improvement, trade talks have escalated.

“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,” a fan wrote.

Holmgren was selected second overall by the Thunder in the 2022 Draft and has largely impressed during his time in OKC. He can protect the rim, finish plays, and stretch defenses. But 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 trading him for Giannis Antetokounmpo. Even SGA couldn’t avoid the question of roster changes, but he remained firm.

“I will give zero input, I will let Sam Presti, the greatest GM ever, do his job,” Gilgeous-Alexander said on the offseason movements. While he may not take any action, the front office will have to. And Holmgren has slipped himself into a murky situation right before his major payday.