SAN ANTONIO - The Thunder made a point on opening night, and Chet Holmgren was right at the center of it.
Months after Oklahoma City’s playoff exit against San Antonio had stirred up questions about Holmgren and Victor Wembanyama, the Thunder walked into the season opener and flipped the script. Holmgren looked like the best big man on the floor in Oklahoma City’s win Tuesday, backing up the confidence his team kept showing in him all along.
Around the Thunder, the stance never changed. Holmgren would be fine.
The skepticism that followed last spring never really shook the organization. “We need Chet,” Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said after last season.
Coach Mark Daigneault matched that belief with a simple response: “I’m riding with him.”
Holmgren rewarded that faith with a strong all-around night: 14 points, seven rebounds and four blocks. But the box score only gets part of the picture. The bigger story was his work defensively, where he helped drive the kind of suffocating effort that held Wembanyama to 1-for-13 shooting, the worst shooting game of his career.
“Chet's a great defender and a great competitor,” said Daigneault.
Added Gilgeous-Alexander, “When he is himself, [our] team is better. It’s as simple as that.”
That confidence looked justified from the start. Holmgren missed the preseason with a quad injury, but there was no obvious rust in his game.
He played with aggression, going after the rim even with Wembanyama waiting there. Wembanyama blocked a couple of his shots, but Holmgren kept pressing the action anyway.
The crowd at the sold-out Frost Bank Center reacted when Wembanyama rejected Holmgren in the second quarter. On the very next possession, Holmgren answered by getting a piece of Wembanyama’s driving layup, quieting the building again.
The matchup had extra weight because of what happened last spring, when Wembanyama was the unanimous Defensive Player of the Year and Holmgren finished as runner-up. On Monday, Holmgren spent plenty of time wrestling with Wembanyama inside and chasing him beyond the arc.
Oklahoma City has gone different directions with the matchup before, using Isaiah Hartenstein and Jaylin Williams on Wembanyama at times. This time, Holmgren started on him and stayed with him for nearly all of his 31 minutes.
Afterward, Holmgren didn’t say he asked for the assignment. He didn’t say he didn’t, either.
Holmgren’s approach has been steady, even after the way last season ended for him. Earlier this week, he explained the mindset to Sports Illustrated: keep moving, keep building, keep adding pieces.
“It's like you're just continually adding a piece to the puzzle,” Holmgren said, “and the puzzle isn't done until the day you make an Instagram post and say, ‘I'm hanging them up. I'm retired, had a great run.’"
The Thunder’s opener was bigger than one individual duel, though Holmgren made sure that duel mattered. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 points.
Jalen Williams, back after a hamstring issue derailed part of last season, moved well in 30 minutes. Jared McCain added 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting, and rookie center Aday Mara chipped in seven points on 3-of-4 shooting.
“Everybody was ready to play, everybody contributed,” said Daigneault. “It was a great collective effort.”
San Antonio came in with plenty of buzz of its own. The Spurs have become a fashionable championship pick, and with Wembanyama, Dylan Harper and Stephon Castle, the young core has the kind of upside that grabs attention fast.
Still, Oklahoma City left with its own reminder of who it is.
“We were all excited to play basketball today,” said Gilgeous-Alexander.
He also made clear that the result should not be overstated. “We took a step in the right direction,” said Gilgeous-Alexander.
“There's nothing more than that. Now obviously the emotions come in and [we] obviously are a little bit more motivated for the game because of the circumstances, but when you peel back the layers, it doesn't mean much.
It's the first game of the season and we're trying to get better every night.”
That’s the reality in October. The lasting stuff comes later. But this one still had meaning, even if it was only the first game.
Oklahoma City showed that Holmgren is still a problem, Wembanyama can be contained, and the Thunder remain a force built to keep coming. The Spurs and Thunder are headed for more meetings, and another playoff series between them feels like a matter of time.
For now, the message was clear: Oklahoma City is still here.
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