Since their rookie seasons in 2023-24, it has been widely believed that OKC Thunder big man Chet Holmgren and San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama have been looking to one-up one another in their games and career accomplishments, with sheer respect and admiration presumably driving the competition.
Recently, such a belief only seems to have strengthened, as ESPN's Marc Spears revealed on an episode of NBA Today that the Spurs phenom uses their rivalry as motivation, especially now after Oklahoma City's 2025 Championship run.
Considering his impressive two-way production and clearly enviable accomplishments achieved thus far in his career, it would only make sense for any young big man prospect to view Holmgren as not only a force to be reckoned with but also a player profile worthy of striving for.
On Monday night, Mavericks wunderkind Cooper Flagg specifically found himself learning this former narrative firsthand.
Chet Holmgren out-duels Cooper Flagg in Thunder v. Mavericks matchup
Flagg came into the contest riding high on a hot start to his debut campaign with the Mavericks, boasting impressive averages of 16.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per night.
However, it took just 31 minutes of action against a Holmgren-led defense to see this momentum come to a screeching halt.
The Duke product finished with a putrid stat line of two points, two rebounds, and two steals while shooting just 1-for-9 from the floor. With Holmgren as his primary defender, he would go 0-for-3 from the field, while finding himself on the wrong side of an at-the-rim stuff by the Thunder big man as well.
Chet, meanwhile, had yet another sensational game during these early stages of the season, as he wrapped up the night with 18 points, 11 rebounds, two assists, and a whopping four blocks while shooting 60.0 percent from the floor and 40.0 percent from deep.
With Flagg as the closest defender, the Thunder stud went 3-for-3 and ended up providing the rookie with his "Welcome to the NBA" moment along the way.
Outside of Oklahoma City ultimately pulling out the hard-fought 101-94 win on the road to remain undefeated at 4-0, the cherry on top (at least, for Thunder fans) of this head-to-head between these two frontcourt savants is the fact that they wound up falling on complete opposite sides of the plus-minus spectrum, with Chet pacing all players at +15 while Flagg registered in a game-worst -20.
After being forced to face Wemby's Spurs in his first regular-season contest (one where he posted a double-double of 10 points and 10 boards), the Mavericks youngster has now experienced what it's like to square off against his direct personal foe in Holmgren.
Sadly for Flagg, he learned the hard way why this rivalry runs so deep.