All eyes were on Oklahoma City Thunder star Chet Holmgren to step up in the Western Conference finals against the San Antonio Spurs. The Thunder dealt with injuries to star forward Jalen Williams and their second-leading scorer of the 2026 NBA playoffs, Ajay Mitchell. The lack of scoring punch allowed Holmgren to do more on offense.
However, that wasn't the case as he struggled in the seven-game series. Against the Spurs, he averaged 10.7 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.1 blocks on 27.3% shooting from deep. In Saturday's Game 7, Holmgren was not aggressive in scoring.
He finished with four points, four rebounds and two blocks on 1-for-2 shooting, leading to a 111-103 loss. It was a crucial game for the Thunder, and Holmgren did not perform to the standard that many expect from him.
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Following their elimination by the Spurs, the Thunder held their exit interview on Sunday. Many fans were eager to hear from the former Gonzaga star following his lackluster performance. Anthony Slater of ESPN questioned Holmgren about the reasons for his low number of shot attempts during the series.
"I feel like part of it was being kind of closed out heavy, too," Holmgren said. "Also, just being a little bit out of rhythm at times. I feel like there were definitely opportunities to get more attempts up that I didn't in the moment. That's an area to improve.
In the first two rounds of the postseason, Holmgren was a major part of the Thunder's success. In the first round against the Phoenix Suns, the one-time All-Star averaged 17.3 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks. He also had a great Game 4 performance with 24 points and 12 rebounds to sweep the Suns.
Against the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round, Holmgren was also productive on offense. He put up 20.0 points, 9.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks.
Chet Holmgren on What Makes the Spurs a Challenging Opponent
The Spurs are a different challenge, according to Holmgren. Slater asked the Thunder star about what makes San Antonio a tough opponent and how much of it will be tailored in their future games against each other.
"I definitely feel like they're different in terms of -- I don't think there's another team that has their play style, their personnel. They're unique in that way. You can't just play like a base, normal 'This is what we do on an average Tuesday night.' type of thing."
Holmgren said that a big part of facing the Spurs is about making the necessary preparations ahead of any matchup.
