San Antonio Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama dominated Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals. In contrast, Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren struggled on the offensive side of the ball and did not take on the challenge of guarding Wembanyama down low. On Tuesday, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith did not hold back with his comments on Holmgren’s poor performance.
Stephen A. Smith Calls Out Chet Holmgren After Thunder Lose Game 1 vs. Spurs
Wembanyama put up 41 points, 24 rebounds, and 3 blocks in the Spurs’ double overtime victory. He shot 14-of-25 from the field and 12-of-13 from the free-throw line in 49 minutes. Meanwhile, Holmgren managed just 8 points on 2-of-7 shooting with 8 rebounds and 2 blocks in 41 minutes.
Smith commented on Holmgren’s offensive struggles but his main gripe was that the Thunder star did not take the Wembanyama assignment.
“Chet Holmgren, what’s up? We heard all this noise all these years that y’all don’t like each other…. Chet Holmgren, you have to want this! You don’t like him, right? You’re the champion, and he’s coming to take what you got!” Smith stated. “What are you going to do about it? Leave it to Alex Caruso? Leave it to Jalen Williams? You gotta guard that man! At some point, he gotta embrace that challenge.”
Stephen A Smith calls out Chet Holmgren for not guarding Wemby:
“Chet Holmgren, what’s up? We heard all this noise all these years that y’all don’t like each other…. Chet Holmgren, you have to want this! You don’t like him right? You’re the champion and he’s coming to take what… pic.twitter.com/h9RfpSlXYG
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) May 19, 2026
Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault decided to have Alex Caruso and Jalen Williams match up against Wembanyama for most of the contest. Both Thunder players give up almost a full foot in height to Wemby, but their goal is to get underneath the Spurs superstar.
If Oklahoma City can keep Wembanyama on the perimeter, this strategy can work. However, if he gets a post position or spins off the smaller perimeter players in the paint, the Spurs can find the 7-4 center for an easy bucket at the rim.
This exact scenario happened multiple times in both overtimes. Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper found Wembanyama inside for alley-oops and low-post touches. Harper found the Defensive Player of the Year for a monster and-1 dunk over Holmgren with 1:01 left in the second overtime. Holmgren must provide better help defense in these situations moving forward.
While Wembanyama cooked offensively, he also neutralized Holmgren on the defensive end. This pattern continued from the regular season, as the Thunder star averaged just 10.5 points on 38.7% shooting against San Antonio in four games. Smith emphasized the importance of taking on the defensive challenge, especially when Holmgren is struggling offensively.
“[Wembanyama] is doing what he’s doing, but to compare that and juxtapose that to Chet Holmgren doing nothing offensively, it’s like, damn, you got to accept that challenge,” Smith said.
It remains to be seen how Holmgren will respond in Game 2, which is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday on Peacock and NBC.
