The Oklahoma City Thunder punched their ticket to the NBA Finals by emphatically beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 124-94 in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals. Other than Game 4, the Thunder controlled just about every aspect of the series, and are likely to be heavy favorites in the Finals.
The Thunder’s third-year center, Chet Holmgren, had a prominent role in the series and fired back at Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards on Instagram after closing it out.
Chet Holmgren Returns 3-Word Message to Anthony Edwards
The Thunder made Holmgren the No. 2 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, but the Gonzaga product missed all of his first season with a Lisfranc injury. He still qualified as a rookie for the 2023-24 season, and averaged 16.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks en route to making the All-Rookie team.
Oklahoma City was the Western Conference’s No. 1 seed heading into the playoffs last season but fell to the Dallas Mavericks in the second round. Holmgren performed well in his first postseason action, averaging 15.6 points per game and leading the playoffs with 2.5 blocks per game.
This year, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s MVP season drove the Thunder to a 68-14 record and a second straight No. 1 seed in the playoffs. Additionally, Holmgren had a solid second full NBA season. The center was third on the team in points per game (15.0), second in rebounds (8.0), and first in blocks (2.2).
Holmgren, a Minnesota native, was fired up for a chance to play his hometown team in the playoffs. Earlier this season, Edwards threw some playful shade at Holmgren with a “welcome home, baby” message after a game. Holmgren remembered that moment and threw it back at Edwards by posting the clip to his Instagram story after Game 5.
Holmgren didn’t stop there. He returned to Instagram to post a carousel of pictures celebrating the series victory with the simple message of, “Welcome home chet.”
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Edwards has been developing into the future face of the NBA, although some would disagree. Holmgren’s posts, meanwhile, are like kicking a man when he’s down.
Edwards had back-to-back poor showings to finish the series. The Timberwolves’ star posted career highs in points per game this year with 27.6, but scored just 16 and 19 in Games 4 and 5, respectively. Holmgren, on the other hand, scored 21 and 22 in each contest to close out Minnesota.
Oklahoma City now awaits either the Indiana Pacers or the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals. The Thunder haven’t been to the Finals since 2012, and the franchise hasn’t won a championship since 1979 when it was in Seattle.
