Thunder's Mark Daigneault Defends Chet Holmgren With Blunt Statement

The Oklahoma City Thunder fell to the visiting San Antonio Spurs in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals, surrendering a 111-103 final score at Paycom Center.

Back-to-back reigning NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander did his part in the closeout game, scoring a game-high 35 points to go along with nine assists. But the Thunder’s other All-NBA player, Chet Holmgren, was nowhere to be found.

Holmgren finished Game 7 with just four points and four rebounds on 1 of 2 shooting from the field through 33 minutes of action.

This dud performance from Holmgren sparked questions regarding his future with the organization as they hope to compete against Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs for years to come.

During an end-of-season press conference on Sunday morning, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault came to Holmgren’s defense.

"Every minute Chet Holmgren has been on the team, we’ve been the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference,” Daigneault said, via OKC insider Clemente Almanza.

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Holmgren arrived in Oklahoma City as the NBA’s No. 2 overall pick in the 2022 draft. He missed his entire debut season due to injury and finished second in Rookie of the Year voting in 2023-24, behind Wembanyama.

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Holmgren earned All-NBA Third Team honors after averaging 17.1 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game through the 2025-26 regular season. He finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting, trailing Wembanyama.

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This story was originally published May 31, 2026 at 1:00 PM.