De’Aaron Fox’s offensive struggles, in part, cost the San Antonio Spurs an NBA Championship. They needed him, and he wasn’t there. Now, Victor Wembanyama knows how Shai Gilgeous-Alexander feels, because that’s exactly what Chet Holmgren did to him in the Western Conference finals.
When SGA needed offensive support, Holmgren wasn’t there. He didn’t step up. In fact, he faded into the background, completely faltering on the offensive end of the court. The same happened to Fox. But instead of not taking shots like Holmgren, Fox just missed a ton.
Regardless, Wemby and SGA now understand each other (at least, on some level).
De'Aaron Fox did to Wemby what Chet Holmgren did to SGA
The Spurs just lost the NBA Finals, falling to the New York Knicks in five games. And when the Spurs needed Fox most, he wasn’t able to step up to the plate.
In Game 5, Fox wasn’t able to perform on the offensive end. He finished the night with only seven points, shooting a brutal 3-of-15 from the floor and 1-of-8 from behind the three-point arc.
It was an ugly display of shot-making in a game when the Spurs needed as much shot-making as they could get. And in the end, the rest of the Spurs couldn’t make up for Fox’s lack of offense.
That’s exactly what happened to SGA in the Western Conference finals. When the Thunder needed Holmgren to provide them with some offense, he wasn’t able to do it.
In fact, Holmgren only took two shots in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals. Two shots. Two. That’s not nearly good enough, and the Thunder ended up losing the game.
OKC was down Jalen Williams, its second-best offensive player behind SGA. The Thunder were also without Ajay Mitchell, who had been the Thunder’s second-best scorer for most of the season up to that point.
So, with the Thunder’s backs against the wall, SGA just needed something from Holmgren. He needed more from his secondary star. The All-Star. The guy who is supposed to be the second-best player on the team.
Wembanyama capitalized on Holmgren’s lack of offense. In fact, he was part of the reason Holmgren wasn’t willing to be aggressive on the offensive end.
But now, Wembanyama knows what it feels like on the other side of the coin. He knows what it’s like to have a secondary offensive player play poorly on the grandest stage.
Fox taught Wemby what Holmgren did to SGA in the WCF.
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