Chet Holmgren’s Game 7 line reads like a quiet game on paper, but it sat at the centre of Oklahoma City’s season-ending loss, where the deeper issue was how often the Thunder’s offence stalled when the ball found him.
The San Antonio Spurs’ 111-103 win today closed out the Western Conference Finals and sent Oklahoma City home, with Holmgren finishing with just four points, four rebounds and no assists on 1-of-2 shooting across 36 minutes.
Watch every game of the 2026 NBA Finals LIVE with ESPN on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.
While Shai Gilgeous-Alexander carried the load with 35 points and nine assists, support beyond him was patchy, apart from a brief lift from Cason Wallace.
Holmgren’s game ended with 1:23 left when he was subbed out and not reinserted, a small moment that underlined how little impact he had offensively in the decisive stretch.
The context made it harder to ignore. The Thunder were already undermanned, with Jalen Williams sidelined by a hamstring injury and Ajay Mitchell and Thomas Sorber also unavailable. That shifted even more responsibility onto Holmgren, not just as a finisher, but as a creator.
Speaking on his show, Kevin O’Connor pointed to exactly that issue as the defining concern.
“With all the guys the Thunder lost, it just didn’t feel like they had enough sources of creation on the roster,” O’Connor said.
“Chet is a top draft pick and a very talented player, but he’s about to become a max-contract player next season. To finish a must-win Game 7 with four points on just two shot attempts, and not be able to create off the dribble at all, is a major issue.
“To me, that’s one of the biggest stories of the entire series. Chet simply couldn’t create offence.”
That theme carried into broader post-game analysis, with Holmgren’s lack of assertiveness repeatedly highlighted as Oklahoma City’s offence tightened under pressure.
Against most teams, Holmgren’s length and touch can influence a game without heavy volume. Against Victor Wembanyama and a Spurs defence built to protect the rim and recover quickly, hesitation becomes far more punishing.
Yahoo Sports NBA writer Tom Haberstroh described the psychological edge San Antonio gained in the matchup, pointing to how Holmgren looked physically and mentally uncomfortable at key moments.
“He looked terrified of Wemby,” Haberstroh said.
“There was a play late in the game where he drove into Wembanyama’s chest and Wembanyama just swallowed the play up with a block. There was nothing he could do.
“He had a sensational block at the rim that helped keep them in the game.
“That doesn’t make up for the complete zero he gave them for the rest of the night.”
He also highlighted a late coaching decision as a sign of how the game was trending.
“Think about how much it takes for Mark Daigneault to rely on Kenrich Williams over Chet Holmgren down the stretch of a Game 7. That’s exactly what happened,” he said.
“Without Jalen Williams and without AJ Mitchell, the shot creation and scoring burden falls on him.”
“For a player with his talent, on his home floor in a Game 7, it’s unacceptable to take only two shots and be completely absent offensively.”
Given the Spurs look like they’ll be dominating the West for a long time, Holmgren simply must improve against Wemby or he’ll become unplayable in the playoffs.
His rookie max extention will see him paid $US240 million ($A333 million) over the next five seasons.
But now the loss will see trade talks heat up with suggestions Holmgren could be the centrepiece of a Thunder move for Giannis Antetokounmpo, while Nick Wright also suggested Anthony Davis could be gettable from the Wizards.
The Holmgren-Wembanyama duel had loomed over the series, with Wembanyama again delivering when it mattered, finishing with 22 points, seven rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block as he claimed Western Conference Finals MVP honours.
Holmgren was never expected to win that matchup outright, but the gap in influence became part of the story. Too often, possessions ended not with shots but with hesitation, allowing San Antonio to reset and load up on Gilgeous-Alexander.
When Holmgren failed to engage as a scoring threat, Oklahoma City’s offence narrowed into isolation-heavy possessions. Defenders sagged, passing lanes tightened, and the Thunder were left searching for cleaner answers in a half-court game that increasingly played into San Antonio’s hands.
In the end, that absence of pressure was just as damaging as any missed shot.
