Chet Holmgren disappeared at the worst possible time for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The defending NBA champion Thunder were officially eliminated from the playoffs in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals on Saturday night. They lost by a final score of 111-103 to the San Antonio Spurs in front of their home crowd at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Okla.
Meanwhile, the biggest egg of the night ended up on the face of the OKC star Holmgren. The seven-footer Holmgren had a nightmare game, finishing with four points and four rebounds on just 1/2 shooting in 33 minutes.
Holmgren looked unsure and passive against Spurs counterpart Victor Wembanyama all throughout the night. One particular clip of Holmgren not even trying to challenge Wembanyama in space during the fourth quarter even made the rounds online.
checking in on chet holmgrenpic.twitter.com/SJAWUPXSIa
— Underdog NBA (@UnderdogNBA) May 31, 2026
Eventually, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault decided to pull Holmgren from the game at the 8:00 minute mark of the fourth quarter. Holmgren did not see the court again for the crucial end-of-game stretch until the 4:26 mark (before being pulled again for good with 1:23 left in the game).
As a result, Holmgren got fried by users on social media. Here were some of the cruelest posts at his expense.
Game 7 Chet Holmgren pic.twitter.com/3jcLwQTwKN
— Underdog (@Underdog) May 31, 2026
All-NBA Chet Holmgren in Game 7pic.twitter.com/aImwZhwO4k
— Underdog (@Underdog) May 31, 2026
Chet Holmgren this whole series pic.twitter.com/tTks8rBXtU
— Lucro (@PlayoffLucro) May 31, 2026
Chet Holmgren when his team needs him to step up & win pic.twitter.com/F4YHGFtCzB
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) May 31, 2026
Game 7 Chet Holmgren pic.twitter.com/MPGPOnZaRh
— Shooter McGavin (@ShooterMcGavin) May 31, 2026
Holmgren, 24, was an All-Star, an All-NBA selection, and an All-Defensive honoree during the regular season. He also landed a max rookie extension from the Thunder last summer, paying him a total of $239.3 million over the next five seasons (all the way through 2031).
But Holmgren definitely failed to live up to that billing during one of the biggest games of his NBA career on Saturday night against the Spurs. He got outplayed by undersized backup Jaylin Williams (11 points and 10 rebounds in 26 minutes) and let his rival Wembanyama take his lunch money all throughout the WCF series (which was also the case during the regular season).
