After sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference semifinals, the Oklahoma City Thunder became the first defending champions since 2019 to return to back-to-back Conference finals.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and company were ready to take on a young San Antonio Spurs squad despite the injuries troubling them, but they soon hit a wall that revealed even the perfectly oiled machine built by Sam Presti had its flaws.
Chet Holmgren found himself in the hot seat after averaging only 10.7 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.1 blocks on 51.0 percent shooting from the field across the seven WCF games. Critics didn't hesitate to suggest that the 7-foot-1 big man was turning into the next Ben Simmons, but the Canadian guard decided to step up and defend his teammate.
"The MVP of the league waited until Game 7 to have a good game," he said . "I don't think it's on Chet. I carry a lot of the weight. The only way you can truly fail is if you don't learn from the moment. I know the type of guy he is. And I know what type of worker he is. He'll definitely do it."
Generally speaking, even with that series, Holmgren played the best postseason of his life. He averaged 17.1 points and 8.9 rebounds, both playoff career highs, along with 1.9 blocks on a stellar 55.7 percent shooting from the field.
The problem was his passivity when things hung in the balance against the Spurs, finishing the series on just 7.3 field goal attempts per game in 29.3 minutes on average. His efficiency didn't drop as much as his inability to assert himself against Victor Wembanyama , especially for a third option on a $250 million contract.
Things looked worse considering that Jalen Williams missed most of the series due to injury, while SGA was clearly struggling to carry the load himself, yet Chet couldn't lend a helping hand. Still, the back-to-back MVP believes that as the team leader, he is ultimately responsible for OKC failing to defend their title.
Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 25.9 points, 8.9 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.9 steals, more than respectable numbers against one of the league's top defenses, but 3.1 turnovers on just 40.9 percent shooting from the field and 28.6 percent from deep clearly suggested that he was far from his regular-season standards.
As for Holmgren himself, he feels the team's leader completely fulfilled his role.
"I might disagree with him," he replies. "Losing in a sh—tty fashion on the last game of the season and having that be your last game for the next three months or whatever, sucks. But he definitely checked on me. We chopped it up, trying to talk some hoops, figuring out how to use this time of the summer productively. I don't think I'm somebody who necessarily needs to be checked in on. But it speaks to his character and his willingness and awareness to do that."
At the end of the day, Oklahoma City fell to a formidable San Antonio squad led by the league's first unanimous DPOY. They went down swinging in seven games despite a heavily depleted rotation.
Losing Williams and breakout playoff contributor Ajay Mitchell in high-stakes moments crippled their depth, yet forcing a Game 7 proves that when fully healthy, OKC remains arguably the top team in the NBA.
And to ensure they stay that way, Shai proved once again that he is a stellar leader who won't allow his ship to sink without a fight.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Oct 9, 2026, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
