Oklahoma City Thunder star center Chet Holmgren did his best to counter an inadvertent taunt sent in his direction by San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama after the Spurs handed the Thunder their second loss of the 2025-2026 NBA season. Given that the Thunder are the defending NBA champions, that has aided in Holmgren’s case over Wembanyama. Both 7ft+ centers are expected to dominate the league for many years to come, making any potential interaction or beef between them noteworthy.
Chet Holmgren Denies Being on Speaking Terms With Victor Wembanyama
Although Wembanyama has yet to lead the Spurs to the playoffs, his individual accomplishments and strong start to the season have fans wondering if Wembanyama deserves to be included in conversations about the best player in the world.
In terms of defense, there is no denying that Wembanyama is on another level. The number of shot attempts from the opposition that Wembanyama discourages might seem unreal to fans who have watched the Spurs center in action.
After carrying his team past the Thunder, handing the defending champions a rare loss in the midst of a historic winning pace, Wembanyama was asked about Holmgren. While the Spurs star could have chosen to shower his contemporary with praise, Wembanyama ended up dismissing Holmgren by pointing out that the MVP (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) was given more attention.
While having Gilgeous-Alexander alongside him certainly helps Holmgren get easier or open shots, Wembanyama’s statement seemed to dismiss almost all of Holmgren’s individual success.
The basketball media wanted to keep this story going. Soon after Wembanyama’s comment went viral and gained plenty of attention, Holmgren was interviewed and asked to share his thoughts on the DPOY award frontrunner and their relationship.
“Not a full sentence, I don’t think….I don’t know, Just never really crossed paths.”
It may interest some fans to know that Wembanyama and Holmgren crossed paths and shared the court even before being drafted into the league. They were selected to represent their respective countries in the FIBA U-19 tournament and faced off in the Finals.
Although Wembanyama recorded over twice as many points(22) when compared to Holmgren (10), it was the future Thunder star who ended up winning the game and establishing himself as the tournament MVP.
Reports from their 2021 matchup reveal that Wembanyama took this loss to Team USA personally and continued to develop his game, eventually finding himself on the Spurs as their franchise cornerstone.
On the other hand, Holmgren appears to have had plenty of help on the court and took full advantage of his situation. While the two centers may have exchanged brief pleasant greetings as opponents, Holmgren does not remember having a single valuable conversation with Wembanyama.
In any case, it has only been a few seasons since both young centers started their respective careers. Fans are left wondering who will dominate their future matchups.
