During Wednesday’s nationally televised game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs, The Athletic‘s Kelly Iko and Andrew Schlecht conducted a running diary of the highly-anticipated Chet Holmgren versus Victor Wembanyama. Below is their conversation.
Pregame
Iko: As much as the Spurs want to downplay the matchup — Wembanyama didn’t even refer to Holmgren by name this week, and Gregg Popovich seemed annoyed at the mere notion of the question — it’s impossible to tiptoe around a meeting of two of the most polarizing giants in the league.
Schlecht: Holmgren and the Thunder also want to downplay the matchup. The second-year big stays very team-oriented with his answers and Wembanyama. I think it’s strange that Wembanyama won’t say Holmgren’s name — like he’s creating his own Voldemort.
Iko: San Antonio has lost two of its first three games of the season and is in a much different headspace than Oklahoma City, but what about this matchup fascinates you? I’ve heard folks around the Spurs use the Thunder as a comparative tool for where they want to be in a few years, citing the success of draft picks like Jalen Williams.
Schlecht: Beyond the obvious Chet-Wemby matchup, you have the return of Chris Paul. He’s in a similar position with the Spurs as he was in Oklahoma City the first time around. Paul is a high-level competitor and knows the tendencies of Thunder starters Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort. I’m intrigued to see the 39-year-old use his IQ to make an impact on this game. This also is my first live look at rookie Stephon Castle, who has a chance to be a cornerstone piece for the Spurs. He is the archetype of a player whom the Thunder went after early in their rebuilding process.
GO DEEPER
Wemby, young Spurs step into professor Chris Paul’s classroom
Iko: All right Andrew, enough of the pleasantries — let’s get right to it. Boos for Wembanyama before the opening tip? I’m locked in.
Schlecht: And a huge ovation for Paul. He not only has ties to the Thunder, but he also played the first two seasons of his career in Oklahoma City with the Hornets. The people here love him.
Iko: This place is electric, and a ball hasn’t been bounced yet. Is Paycom Center always like this? It feels like a playoff game, but we’re still in October!
Schlecht: Paycom wasn’t like this in the regular season last season, but when the playoffs hit, things changed. The home opener had this energy too. Thunder fans know what they have.
First quarter
Schlecht: Holmgren opens this matchup, with not one, but two blocks on the opening possession.
Iko: Looks like Wembanyama is struggling early with the physicality of Oklahoma City’s defense. Ironically enough, he goes through a pregame drill that looked exactly like the Spurs’ opening possession, but the Thunder blew that up. Wemby tries to quiet the crowd with a pull-up 3 over Holmgren the next time down the floor to no avail and follows that up with another shot. This is going to be a dogfight.
Schlecht: The Thunder aren’t playing into the anticipated matchup early on with Jalen Williams and Dort defending Wembanyama early in possessions.
Iko: Wembanyama with some solid defense in space against Holmgren, who is underrated in terms of his quickness. Even at that size, he’s shifty. But you can just tell Wembanyama wants to impose his well defensively, that’s what gets him fired up.
Schlecht: The Thunder had what might be an error on the Jumbotron. They had Wembanyama’s name but used Hawks forward Jalen Johnson’s photo. I’d like to believe the Thunder game operations crew were getting a little cute.
Iko: Two minutes in, the Spurs lead 8-2 and the Thunder call a timeout. Wembanyama has four points, two rebounds and an assist.
Thunder coach Mark Daigenault mentioned deploying guards and wings on Wembanyama and using Holmgren as a shell defender which opens his versatility, but the French center has to take advantage of a smaller defender on him.
Schlecht: Holmgren gets on the board with an early possession 3 and ties the game at 10. A minute later, he gets another from the same spot. The Spurs might want to get someone out on Holmgren when he’s on the wing; you can’t just sag off on him like that.
Iko: And just like that, the Spurs surrender a 13-2 run to take a 15-10 lead. Feels like Wembanyama is forcing the issue a bit. As much as the rivalry with Holmgren dominates the airwaves, he can’t let that dictate the course of the game. He’s playing directly into the Thunder’s hands. Oklahoma City is encouraging Wembanyma to create from the nail and drive into their wall near the rim. The Thunder lead the league in defended field-goal percentage with shots taken within 6 feet or less.
Schlecht: The bench minutes will likely determine the outcome of this game. The Thunder bring in Alex Caruso, who is an instant impact player on both ends.
Iko: I’ll be interested to see the substitution patterns with both of these guys tonight. Wembanyama is back at the scorer’s table with less than two minutes left in the opening quarter.
Schlecht: Daigneault sees Wembanyama checking back in and immediately signals for Holmgren to get in the game.
Iko: Some nice help defense from Wembanyama forces a rare Thunder turnover. At the other end, he finds a wide-open Castle on the right wing, but Castle misses the shot. If they’re going to defend Wembanyama like this, his teammates will need to knock down those shots. This might be a big Julian Champagnie game?
Wembanyama’s body language after one quarter is telling. He is frustrated, getting hounded and not getting the ball on the block when there’s a mismatch.
Schlecht: The Thunder close the first quarter with Caruso latched on Wembanyama. This feels like a supersized version of Tony Allen defending Kevin Durant.
After first, Thunder lead 26-19.
Holmgren: six points, two rebounds, one assist, one block, one steal
Wembanyama: four points, three rebounds, one assist
Second quarter
Schlecht: Holmgren gets a shot-clock violation after an air ball on the first possession. You can tell he was thinking a little too much on that one.
Iko: Wembanyama falls to the ground and slams his fist on the court after not getting a call, while Holmgren flushes it home at the other end of the floor. Early timeout, Spurs trail 28-19. This is typically the danger zone against good teams, a nine-point deficit.
Schlecht: Wemby is heading to the locker room after a fall. He was walking on his own power, but you could tell he had a limp.
Here’s the play that caused Wemby to go to the locker room:
He and Chet got tangled up… nothing dirty just unfortunate. pic.twitter.com/YCxK8tdQwr
— WembyMuse (@Wemby_Muse) October 31, 2024
Wembanyama still hasn’t emerged from the locker room yet after taking a tumble early in the quarter.
Schlecht: Holmgren is out here putting on a show with Wembanyama backstage. The spin move into a layup on Zach Collins was beautiful.
Iko: This game is getting away from the Spurs, quickly — 42-26 midway through the quarter. Wembanyama is now back on the floor, just in time.
Schlecht: Thankfully, Wembanyama is back. As much as I would love to blog about Ajay Mitchell, I want more Chet vs. Wemby. (Mitchell immediately splashes a 3.)
Iko: This is an impressive defensive display and why I have Oklahoma City making a deep playoff run. The Thunder are one of the few teams in the league with the personnel to essentially keep the ball away from Wembanyama. He’s going to have to get creative and impose his will, all while playing within the scheme.
Let’s see if he dominates in the non-Holmgren minutes. He just got a wide-open 3 at the top of the key and missed it. Won’t get too many of those tonight.
Schlecht: The Thunder are daring Wemby to take 3s. So far it’s paying off for OKC. He’s 0 of 3.
Iko: Big stuff from Wembanyama on a Caruso layup, but the Thunder get a 3 out of it anyway. Those plays are demoralizing when you’re erasing a big deficit. It’s 50-34 Thunder with 2:52 left in the half. And to make matters worse, guess who just trotted back onto the court? Here comes Holmgren. The more I think about it, he looks like Zoolander.
Schlecht: The Thunder are throwing out a mega defensive lineup with Gilgeous-Alexander, Dort, Caruso, Cason Wallace and Holmgren. The Thunder feel comfortable switching anyone onto Wemby.
Iko: Holmgren tried to embarrass Wembayama on national TV with a self alley-oop and the big man was having none of it. The next time down the floor, a pump fake gets Holmgren in the air and drives and kicks to Paul for another 3. It’s a 10-point game. Now we’re talking!
Schlecht: The audacity of Chet! That play is why it’s not a Thunder vs. Spurs matchup. He’s on a mission to make Wembanyama say his name.
Iko: Now, Wembanyama is calling for the ball, bringing it up the floor and attacking the rim. This is the aggressive Wembanyama who can cause myriad problems. We’ll see if this holds in the second half.
At halftime, Thunder lead Spurs 59-44.
Holmgren: 15 points, three rebounds, one assist, two blocks, one steal
Wembanyama: six points, six rebs, two assists, one block
Third quarter
Iko: The Spurs got back on the court super late with only about three minutes to warm up. My hunch is that Popovich had some words of “encouragement” for his guys after a lackluster first half. Let’s see what happens.
Schlecht: There’s a hard swipe from Dort on a drive from Wembanyama, who is down momentarily.
Iko: He’s back on his feet now, but that’s going to hurt in the morning. I appreciate the fact that Wembanyama is making the extra pass and rolling hard to the rim, but San Antonio needs much more from him if it’s going to get back in the game.
Schlecht: Holmgren is up to 17 points after two free throws. The Thunder are using Wallace to set a downscreen to get Paul on Holmgren.
Iko: A bad Wembanyama pass leads to a Holmgren steal, which ends up resulting in yet another Dort 3. This one is leaving the station, folks. The Spurs trail 71-52 with 8:35 left in the quarter. It just doesn’t look like the Frenchman’s night.
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Another wild pass luckily gets tipped out of bounds, but that was heading for the stands. The Thunder are getting away with leaving Williams on Wembanyama and he’s not capitalizing on it.
Schlecht: Holmgren hits Wembanyama in the face on a drive. I can’t tell if his reactions are dramatic or not.
Iko: Wembanyama’s going to need an ice bath after tonight. Several. Maybe some chamomile tea, too. Quietly, the Spurs are chipping away at this lead, getting production from other teammates.
Schlecht: There have been a lot of Spurs mistakes tonight, but the No. 1 mistake is on Blake Wesley’s jersey. It says “Welsey.”
Iko: Wemby checks out with 4:45 to go with both hands on his hips. He looks exhausted.
After third, Thunder lead Spurs 82-70
Holmgren: 17 points, five rebounds, one assist, two blocks, two steals
Wembanyama: six points, six rebs, two assists, two blocks
Fourth quarter
Iko: Wembanyama successfully defends multiple ballhandlers to force a shot-clock violation. Maybe plays like that get him energized on the other end. It’s only a seven-point game!
Schlecht: Holmgren sets up Aaron Wiggins under the basket to bring the lead back to nine. Holmgren’s passing has gone under the radar this season, but he’s quietly adding to his game on the edges.
Iko: That was a nifty wraparound pass to freeze Wembanyama momentarily. He tries to get Holmgren back by attacking him at the other end with a wild behind-the-back dribble but gets the ball stripped.
Schlecht: I told you earlier that I’d be cool blogging about Ajay Mitchell! He’s up to 10 points in the game and is playing real minutes for the only undefeated team in the West. What a second-round steal for the Thunder.
Iko: Who is this man? And where did he come from? The Spurs look defeated already. Heads are low heading into the timeout, trailing the Thunder 91-77 with 7 minutes left.
Schlecht: With the Thunder up 16 with 4:12 left, the Wemby vs. Chet matchup might end as a dud. Wembanyama never found a level of comfort against the Thunder’s defense. If he is done, he finished only 1 of 5 from the field.
Iko: Wembanyama is in his warmups on the sidelines doing stretches with less than 5 minutes left in this one and San Antonio trailing by 16. I think his night is over. Some fans have begun to head for the exits. The national TV gods are not pleased.
Final: Thunder 105, Spurs 93
Holmgren: 19 points, five rebounds, two assists, two blocks two steals (7 of 10 from the field, 3 of 3 from 3 distance)
Wembanyama: Six points, eight rebounds, two assists, three blocks (1 of 5 from the field, 0 of 3 from 3 distance)
(Photo: Alonzo Adams / Imagn Images)
