“Gives Me Some Easy Baskets”: Victor Wembanyama Reflects on Thunder’s Defense as Spurs Fall Short 140–114

Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren went up against each other during the San Antonio Spurs-Oklahoma City Thunder clash as one of the more entertaining matchups of the NBA’s rival week. The two rookies produced an entertaining duel where while Wembanyama outperformed his competition, Holmgren’s side emerged victorious.

Despite the Spurs suffering a 140-114 blowout loss, Victor Wembanyama had an excellent display. Continuing to play on a minutes restriction, the French phenom found a way to capitalize on the 27:46 minutes of game time. Shooting 50% from the field, Wemby finished the night with 24 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 blocks.

Throughout the game, the #1 pick of the 2023 Draft witnessed numerous different defenders guarding him. Aside from Chet Holmgren, the OKC also deployed the likes of Lu Dort, Jalen Williams, and Aaron Wiggins to try and prevent Wemby from going on a scoring rampage.

During the postgame press conference, the Spurs center spoke about the Thunder’s unique defensive strategy. Implying that the strategy didn’t work to the fullest, the European prodigy stated that he was too big for the smaller and too fast for the taller defenders.

“Having smaller guys (guard me) gives me some easy buckets sometimes. Matching me up with the bigger guys allows me to be faster than them,” Wemby said.

Every basketball enthusiast was hoping to see Wemby and Chet guard each other. Hector Ledesma also asked the 20-year-old whether he would’ve liked to go up against Holmgren, almost in a classic one-on-one style. Being as humble as he could, the youngster explained how he was accustomed to being double-teamed all season long.

“I never really play one on one’s all year. It’s always one on two,” Wembanyama said.

The 7ft 4” unicorn had several highlight plays. However, there was one that stood out. At one point of the heated contest, Wembanyama threw down a dunk on Chet. Later, quite unlike him, Victor not only stared Holmgren down but also flexed on him.

With Holmgren coming back to barge into him, there seems to be a little bit of a rivalry developing here. With both big men clearly being up for the challenge of showing up one another, this duel has the potential to arguably be the most entertaining in this upcoming decade in the NBA. However, for this contest to truly reach its potential, the San Antonio Spurs will have to get a lot better in its totality. If the franchise can achieve this, there will be more meaning to this budding rivalry which could intensify their future matchups.

Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren’s head-to-head stats

Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren are on a different level as compared to the other rookies in the 2023 draft class. Despite their young age, these two players have been fulfilling some massive tasks that they’ve been delegated with.

Wembanyama has been one of the most hyped prospects since LeBron James. Managing to meet such surreal expectations, he has been averaging 20.4 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 3.2 blocks per game this season.

On the other side of things, Chet Holmgren is averaging 17.1 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks per game. However, while his numbers are lower, Chet has played a huge role in the Thunder sitting at the top-most position in the West with a 31-13 record.

The talented youngsters have faced off against each other twice already. While Wembanyama is averaging more points (16 to Chet’s 13), rebounds (13 to Chet’s 8), and blocks (3 to Chet’s 2), Holmgren has been on the victorious side on both occasions.

Chet Holmgren was announced as the Rookie of the Month for October, November, and December over Victor Wembanyama. However, in January, Wembanyama has elevated his performance, averaging 24.7 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 3.4 blocks per game. The increase in his production has gotten Wembanyama to shift up to the #1 spot on the past few rookie ladders.

The Spurs star will be the favorite to win the Western Conference Rookie of the Month for January. Additionally, there is no doubt that he is also the frontrunner to lift the prestigious Rookie of the Year award.

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• Chet Holmgren
• Oklahoma City Thunder
• San Antonio Spurs
• Victor Wembanyama