It's no secret that OKC Thunder big man Chet Holmgren had a rough series against San Antonio in the Western Conference Finals.
Whether it was his putrid per-game scoring average of 10.7 points, which included a four-point, 1-for-2 performance in Oklahoma City's Game 7 close-out loss, or the fact that he was visibly manhandled by Victor Wembanyama on both ends of the floor throughout, it's well understood just how poorly the 24-year-old played.
However, the aftershock takes on Chet as a player, and his importance to this dynasty-pushing Thunder squad, has seemingly reached new levels, with many even suggesting Sam Presti and company should be considering moving on from him as a result of his late postseason duds.
ESPN's Stephen A. Smith is merely the latest figure to be peddling such a narrative, as he stated in a recent episode of The Stephen A. Smith Show that his production in round three was "automatic grounds for a trade," specifically saying "they should have traded for Giannis just because of what happened with Chet Holmgren."
Frankly, it's one thing to call a spade a spade and state Holmgren's late playoff follies played a major role in Oklahoma City's ultimate demise. It's another thing, however, to view what happened in the conference finals as a reason to write off the big as a core member of this Thunder squad moving forward.
Simply put, this take by Smith an egregious example of recency bias in full effect.
Chet Holmgren has already proven to be the third star Thunder need
One bad series should not wipe away all the good Holmgren did throughout this past season as a whole.
It's undeniable that Chet put forth his best campaign in the pros to date during his 2025-26 run, posting stellar averages of 17.1 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks on 55.7 percent shooting from the floor and 36.2 percent shooting from deep while earning All-Star, All-NBA, and All-Defensive honors, along with a second-place finish in the DPOY race, along the way.
What's most impressive about all of this production and the accompanying collection of accolades is that it came from a guy who, when the Thunder are at full strength, should be the third star in the pecking order.
Two-time MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the undisputed top option in OKC, while a healthy Jalen Williams slides seamlessly in as his number two.
The problem last season was that J-Dub was regularly hobbled and sidelined as a result of myriad injuries, which, in turn, forced Holmgren to slide up the totem pole and take on Robin duties next to SGA's Batman.
Needless to say, based on his productivity coupled with the fact that the Thunder once again finished with the league's best record at 64-18, OKC is certainly capable of thriving with such a one-two punch for the vast majority of the season and throughout the postseason.
Let's not pretend that his efforts against the Suns in round one and the Lakers in round two weren't vital to the club's early dominating ways.
However, as was expected throughout their run, getting over the hump with key rotational fixtures like Williams and Ajay Mitchell (calf) in the mix proved a real challenge and, ultimately, futile.
Of course, even with these hurdles, the Thunder still only came up nine points shy of advancing to their second straight NBA Finals.
Had they had a healthy Williams in the fold and, in turn, slotted Chet back to his more natural third-option role, many believe the outcome of their Spurs series would have been completely different.
Heading into 2026-27, should their core trio be fully intact, this should also be the expectation.
Add us as a preferred source on Google