Chet Holmgren has been a spectacular rookie in his campaign with the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2023-24 NBA season. But despite losing the Rookie of the Year award to San Antonio Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama, Holmgren claims that there is no rivalry between the two players heading into the next season.

The last three games played between the two players have been quite a spectacle, and it is no secret that the two players have brought out the best in each other when they faced on the court. Sure, Wembanyama walked off with the Rookie of the Year honors, but it was considered to be a downplay on Holmgren’s impact in the Thunder’s winning season – the best they’ve had since the 2012-13 season.

For Holmgren, the ultimate goal is to compete at the highest level, and he doesn’t care who stands in front of him now more than ever, and one can even say that the Thunder big man is focused on the big picture in the years to come. Downplaying the so-called rivalry with Wembanyama in the coming season is one of the ways he’s focusing on winning now.

Shutting Down a Rivalry

It is easy to say that Holmgren and Wembanyama’s careers are slated to be intertwined forever due to the fact that they were rookies in the same season, and they almost share the same body build and height, making them the new breed of centers in the modern NBA. So far, Holmgren believes that the rivalry was just fabricated by the media to cook up more attention in their respective rookie campaigns.

"I don't want to go into any matchup and make it about what it isn't," Holmgren told "Podcast P with Paul George." "It's about winning the basketball game. I don't want to fall into the trap of turning something into a one-on-one game. Obviously, there's a lot of competitive juice — when you go up against a really good player — but I wasn't changing my gameplan just because we had Spurs on the schedule."

One of the biggest games that ignited the rivalry match was the fact that they had a spectacular showdown in the leap year game last season, with Wemby finishing with 28 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists, and five blocks, while Holmgren tallied 23 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and a block.

Addressing a Rivalry

Whether or not Holmgren accepts it, the general media and a huge portion of NBA fans accept that they are slated to be rivals for the years to come. So far, it is expected that these two players will go head-to-head at least three or four times in a single season. With the Spurs being expected to make a climb on the playoff stage, we may even be treated to a possible postseason showdown between the two.

For Holmgren, however, this is just him and the French big man showing that they are ready to compete at the highest level when needed.

"That's probably just us being competitors," Holmgren responded. "But when people ask, 'Y'all got beef?' I'm like, 'What beef? We're out there competing.' To me, beef means, we're fighting. Why would I have beef with him? I honestly don't even know the guy."

Chet Holmgren averaged 16.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 2.3 blocks per game while playing all 82 games in the regular season. The incoming sophomore seeks to boost Oklahoma City’s championship hopes after the team finished with the 1st seed with a 57-25 record but fell short in the West Semis.