Sam Presti, the general manager of the Thunder, offered strong support for center Chet Holmgren following his challenging performance against the Spurs in the Western Conference finals.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Presti emphasized Holmgren’s invaluable contributions, stating, “He impacts our success on numerous levels.”
Presti highlighted Holmgren’s achievements, noting that he was a first-time All-Star, ranked second in Defensive Player of the Year voting, and earned a spot on the All-NBA third team.
However, Holmgren’s scoring took a hit during the playoff series against the Spurs, plummeting from an average of 17.1 points per game to 10.7 points.
In the season’s pivotal game, Holmgren struggled, attempting only two shots and scoring four points in a challenging 33 minutes on the court.
Presti, however, isn’t “really that concerned about him.”
“This is a guy that is intrinsically motivated,” Presti added. “He doesn’t need people questioning him or things on the internet to drive his improvement. … He doesn’t need somebody to nudge him, he doesn’t need somebody to question him. It’s just kind of how he’s wired.”
The struggles against the Spurs weren’t just in the playoffs.
Holmgren hit his yearly average of 17 points just once in the 11 games he played against San Antonio this season. Victor Wembanyama came off the bench in that one game after missing the previous 12 with an injury.
The second overall pick in the 2022 draft took at least nine shots in nine of 10 games leading up to the Western Conference finals. He hit that mark just twice against the Spurs.
Against the Lakers, when there was no Wembanyama, Holmgren averaged 20 points, 9.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks.
“We were sweeping our way to the Western Conference finals primarily because of his efforts in the [Laker] series,” Presti said.