Chet Holmgren is using his WCF struggles as motivation to improve his game for the future
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Chet Holmgren is using his WCF struggles as motivation to improve his game for the future originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
In the 2026 Western Conference Finals, it was clear that Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder were the superstars. With their status as the best players, they do still need a supporting cast to help them.
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For the most part, Wembanyama's teammates stepped up with names like Stephon Castle, De'Aaron Fox, and Dylan Harper all performing well. For the Thunder, role players stood out like Alex Caruso and Cason Wallace. However, they did expect much more from All-NBA big man Chet Holmgren.
Chet Holmgren addresses his struggles in the Western Conference Finals vs the Spurs
As an All-NBA player, expectations are naturally higher. Since Wembanyama was out on a mission to fully dominate, the Thunder's best chance of countering him was through Holmgren. Unfortunately, he was struggling quite a bit throughout the series.
He averaged 10.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game. That is a far cry from his regular season averages of 17.1 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per game. It was clear that not only was he struggling, but he was shying away from the big moments.
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At times, he got the ball, and he would not even look at the rim. Game 7 was his worst performance of the series, as he only scored 4 points while having only 2 shot attempts. That kind of passiveness is unacceptable for an All-NBA player, and a day later, he knows he has to improve on that.
"I have to dive into the tape to understand the specifics of it, but a part of it, I was getting closed out heavily and just being out of rhythm at times. I feel like there were definitely opportunities to get more attempts up that I didn't in the moment. That's an area to improve," Holmgren said while reflecting on his struggles against the Spurs.
It is definitely a disappointing ending to such a good season for Holmgren. The expectations will only keep getting bigger because his long-term contract kicks in at the start of the 2026-27 season. He needs to live up to that $250 million contract because he was given that for a lot of good reasons.
More NBA news:
- Lu Dort makes it clear that he would love to stay with the Thunder moving forward
- Victor Wembanyama's record-breaking performance in the 2026 Playoffs needs a deeper dive
- Stephon Castle manages to equal the likes of Kobe Bryant and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in WCF feat
- Cason Wallace still believes the Thunder are a better team than the Spurs despite the loss
- Mark Daigneault takes accountability for Chet Holmgren's struggles in the Western Conference Finals