The Thunder rallied around Chet Holmgren after a tough Game 7 loss to the Spurs.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Chet Holmgren attempted two shots in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals. He absorbed plenty of shots from critics afterward.
The Oklahoma City Thunder spent Day 1 of the offseason making clear that they support him.
If the ballyhooed matchup in the West Finals was Holmgren vs. San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama, then it was a one-sided one. Wembanyama had the superior numbers in the series and the Spurs wound up prevailing, while Holmgren was barely a factor offensively with the Thunder season on the line Saturday night.
“Every minute Chet Holmgren’s been on the team, we’ve been the 1 seed in the Western Conference,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said Sunday, when the team gathered for end-of-season meetings. “And it wasn’t the case before Chet was healthy.”
Holmgren had likely his best season, with career-highs of 17.1 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. He earned All-NBA honors for the first time, All-Defensive for the first time as well, got his first All-Star nod, plus was second in the Kia Defensive Player of the Year balloting.
He finished second in that voting behind Wembanyama — just like he did for Rookie of the Year in 2024, and just like the Thunder did in these West Finals.
