Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Backs Chet Holmgren With Clear Message

The Oklahoma City Thunder fell short of their NBA championship aspirations on Saturday night, falling to the San Antonio Spurs in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals.

Reigning back-to-back MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander delivered his best game of the series, scoring 35 points to go along with his nine assists. But the Thunder’s other All-NBA talent, Chet Holmgren, did not live up to his end of the bargain.

Holmgren recorded just four points and four rebounds on 1/2 shooting from the field through his 33 minutes of action in Saturday night’s Game 7 loss at Oklahoma City’s Paycom Center.

This abysmal playoff performance sparked immediate speculation regarding Holmgren’s future with the team. However, Gilgeous-Alexander came to his teammate’s defense during his exit interview on Sunday.

“We need Chet Holmgren,” SGA said.

“Before Chet was here, we weren’t who we are today. We wouldn’t have the success we have today” Gilgeous-Alexander continued. “When he’s the best version of himself, we’re the best version of ourselves.”

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Holmgren’s numbers plummeted in the Western Conference Finals as he went up against Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama. These two players have a long-standing rivalry, with Wembanyama finishing ahead of Holmgren in both 2023-24 Rookie of the Year and 2025-26 Defensive Player of the Year voting.

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Holmgren averaged 10.7 points and 7.1 rebounds per game in the conference finals, well below the statistics that earned him All-NBA Third Team honors this season.

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This story was originally published May 31, 2026 at 11:04 AM.