Chet Holmgren's Poor Play Costs Thunder In Game 1

The big man couldn't get the job done, and OKC felt every effect from it.

May 18, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren (7) drives the ball while defended by San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) in the third quarter during game one of the western conference finals for the 2026 NBA playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Oklahoma City’s big man flat out has to be better. 

The Oklahoma City Thunder were woken up on Monday night, as they lost their first game of the postseason 122-115 to the San Antonio Spurs. Although this game was a hard-fought battle, and even went to double overtime, it felt like the Spurs were in control of the game for the majority of the bout. 

Multiple Thunder players like Alex Caruso and Jalen Williams stepped up to the moment to try and claw back into the game, but others just didn’t make it possible for OKC to walk away with a win. Unfortunately, Thunder star big Chet Holmgren fell into this category, which cannot be the case for future games. 

Holmgren only scored eight points on 28.6% shooting in a game where he needed to display dominance in the post. He would grab eight rebounds, leading the Thunder, but would be dominated by the Spurs counterpart Victor Wembanyama, allowing him to grab nine offensive rebounds. 

Before the start of the Western Conference Finals, Holmgren was having the best postseason of his career. He was averaging 18.6 points on 60% shooting, along with grabbing 9.1 rebounds per game. Oklahoma City was depending on the big man continuing this trend against the best opponent they have seen so far, but instead, they got the exact opposite. 

The eight points he scored is the lowest total for Holmgren this postseason. Unfortunately, it was around what was expected, as Holmgren only averaged 10.5 points per game against the Spurs in the regular season. 

Holmgren’s defense started strong as he made Wembanyama work for points, and even sent his shot back as time expired in regulation to send the game to overtime. However, as time went on and the fatigue would set in, Holmgren saw his defensive presence fade as well and not stay to the standard that was needed. 

If the Thunder are going to bounce back from this Game 1 loss, Holmgren is going to have to turn his play completely around. He’s tasked with a big challenge as he has to share the paint with the Defensive Player of the Year in Wembanyama, but it’s something that must be done. 

Even with Holmgren’s lackluster performance, OKC was able to send this game to double overtime and only lost by seven points. If the big man can adjust his play on offense and limit Wembanyma on the other side of the floor, the Thunder will have a shot at making Game 1 just a fluke that is forgotten about.