"It's levels to this conversation" - Lou Williams explains why the Wemby-Chet rivalry talk has to stop
Lou Williams wants the Victor Wembanyama - Chet Holmgren rivalry talk to stop.
According to "Sweet Lou", there is no reason to put Wembanyama and Holmgren side by side in basketball conversations because, other than both being young seven-footers who battled for the 2024 NBA Rookie of the Year award, they belong to different tiers of players.
"They're both seven-footers, they came out back-to-back years, and Chet was hurt. Other than that, that's where it ends for me. Like the real rivalry, it's level's to this conversation, the real rivalry to me is gonna be SGA and Wemby. Those are the MVP candidates. Why would an MVP candidate have a rivalry with a guy that's not in that conversation? I think there's a lot of levels and a lot of layers to these conversations," explained Williams.
Nothing more than rookie rivals
To Lou's point, Chet was the No.2 overall pick of the 2022 NBA Draft. However, he suffered a foot injury and missed his entire true rookie season. Victor was drafted first overall in 2023, and both of them made their NBA debuts during the 2023-24 campaign.
Because they also squared off in the 2021 FIBA U-19 World Championship, they were pitted as rivals during their rookie seasons. While Holmgren played for a winning team, Wembanyama put up better individual numbers and was named the 2024 NBA Rookie of the Year. Since then, Wemby's career has taken off, while the Thunder big man continues to play a supporting role in OKC behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams .
"I think Wemby has graduated from that conversation of a rivalry with Chet," added Lou Will. "I think it was a rivalry based on who was Rookie of the Year, who's going to be the best new seven-foot guy to come out. Other than that, what other comparisons? I don't know what other comparisons other than those two things. I don't think this is even sexy enough for us to continue to talk about or keep going."
Victor said Chet is not his rival
After being unable to finish the 2024-25 campaign with an injury, Victor has returned even better and more dominant this season. And with his San Antonio Spurs facing and beating the Thunder three times this month, the Wemby-Chet rivalry talk was reignited. However, before their third meeting, Wembanyama dismissed Holmgren as his rival, saying they are not on the same level.
"No, I don't think about that," said Wembanyama of his "rivalry" with Holmgren . "At least from a basketball standpoint, there's no comparison between us."
Wembanyama is averaging 23.9 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 3.1 blocks per game this season for the Spurs. Meanwhile, Holmgren is putting up 18.0 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 blocks per game for the Thunder.
The difference in numbers isn't too drastic, but when you watch the games and understand their roles on their respective teams, it's not hard to agree that, without disrespecting Chet, he is no rival to Victor. And as Lou Will said, the real rivalry is SGA vs. Wemby, and it's a good one.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Dec 30, 2025, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
