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Tuesday saw the first encounter between Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren on an NBA floor and the two 7-foot phenoms put on a show. Like with any first-time thing, it's time for some way-too-early overreactions to Wembanyama and Holmgren's first NBA matchup. In the end, Holmgren's Oklahoma City Thunder took the win over Wembanyama's San Antonio Spurs. But all NBA fans wound up as winners witnessing the two future superstars go at it.
Holmgren finished the night with 21 points, nine rebounds, two three-pointers, and a block on 7-of-10 shooting in 16 minutes of action. Meanwhile, Wemby had 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting to go along with five rebounds, two triples, two steals, and a block in 19 minutes.
Now that their first game against each other is in the books, let's make some overreactions to the Spurs vs. Thunder preseason game that Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren's first NBA showdown.
1. Wembanyama and Holmgren will both make the All-Star team
Based on what they showed on Tuesday, it's safe to say both Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren will make the Western Conference All-Star team. Both of them put up insane per-minute production and efficiency, which only means they'll average insane numbers throughout the regular season. Those gaudy stat lines will help the two studs earn their first All-Star selection in their rookie seasons.
The last rookie to make an All-Star team was Blake Griffin in 2011. The last time two players from the same class made it together was in 1985 when Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon earned their spots in the showcase of stars as NBA debutants. Wembanyama and Holmgren will become the first pair of rookies to make the All-Star team in nearly four decades.
2. Wembanyama and Holmgren, Spurs vs. Thunder will be the next great NBA rivalry
We're talking about Magic versus Larry levels, or perhaps even a Bill Russell versus Wilt Chamberlain kind — those types of rivalries that define a generation. We haven't seen a rivalry that reached the level that Johnson and Bird did. LeBron James and Stephen Curry have a case. But even if they did meet in multiple NBA Finals, their rivalry still did not seem quite as heated and as intense as the Celtics and Lakers matchups that defined the 1980s.
Based on the first encounter, this brewing Wembanyama-Holmgren rivalry already looks like it is headed in that direction. The two did not waste time exchanging haymakers early on.
The rivalry is also already heating up off the court, too, with Holmgren taking a shot at Wemby on social media.
The headbutt is an unstoppable move fasho😂😂🤝 https://t.co/Oaz7Mz8f57
— chet holmgren (@ChetHolmgren) October 10, 2023
I mean just look at this response from Wemby. They already hate each other.
Victor Wembanyama: "I feel like [Chet Holmgren] hurt us in the first half. I know it's just preseason but for sure the games against OKC [Thunder] are gonna be interesting."
Brian Windhorst: "Do you guys have any relationship at all?"
Wemby: "No."pic.twitter.com/jQG5PteJrt
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) October 10, 2023
The Thunder and the Spurs will face off four times during the regular season, which should make for must-watch basketball between two budding stars.
But based on what Wemby and Chet showed in their first game against each other, the Spurs and Thunder are already set to face off in many epic Western Conference Finals for many years to come, which should only further build their rivalry.
3. Wembanyama and Holmgren are already Hall of Fame locks
No, for real. That game is all I need to see to convince myself that both Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren are already locks for the Hall of Fame. Just their stat lines alone are enough proof that both will win multiple MVPs, get selected to at least 10 All-Star selections and All-NBA nods apiece, and lead their respective teams to multiple titles.
It's not even a question that these two are generational superstars anymore and their rivalry will only further push them to be greater than they already are.
