OKLAHOMA CITY — Grabbing the rebound, Chet Holmgren forced Zach Collins to commit a shooting foul. After more than a year’s wait, the 2022 No. 2 pick’s first points at OKC came at the free-throw line.
The mundaneness surrounding his first points didn’t detract from the specialness of Monday’s 122-121 win over the San Antonio Spurs for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Though it was just the first preseason game, the atmosphere inside Paycom Center felt different. The return of Holmgren along with this game also serving as 2023 No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama’s debut created an unprecedented feeling for the exhibition matchup.
This was the first of countless matchups between the two giants. Holmgren and Wembanyama headline this season’s historic rookie class — and for good reason. Both enter the league riding several years of hype that already made them household names.
This is the first time both seven-footers shared the floor since the 2021 U19 FIBA World Cup. Since then, the anticipation surrounding both has only grown.
This first round between the two top-two picks likely gets scored as a draw. Both Holmgren and Wembanyama were superb and showed off why they’re both members of the next great generation of players.
“I played against him a couple of years ago in FIBA,” Holmgren said about his first game against Wembanyama. “It’s really cool to see players from across the world be connected through the NBA. I plan to play a long time and I’m sure he does too, so it’ll be no choice but to go back and forth.”
Even though both Holmgren and Wembanyama received all of the hype for the preseason opener, plenty of other Thunder players also shined in the one-point win.
Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault played all 17 available players. The preseason serves as an opportunity for a head coach to experiment in an inconsequential game environment.
Other Thunder standouts include Josh Giddey and Jalen Williams. Both had their moments in the first half and it was exciting to see how they meshed with Holmgren for the first time in an NBA game. Davis Bertans also shined in the second half as he provided OKC with four 3-pointers and deep range.
This game also marked the debut for Cason Wallace, who drew the start after Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was ruled out for rest. He had a quiet stat line of two points, five rebounds and three steals. But even without the stats, Daigneault raved about Wallace and noted how seasoned of a player he looked on the court.
“He’s a winning player. He’s tough, smart. Plays inside the team. He lets the game tell him what to do,” Daigneault said. “He looked like that was his 100th game.”
For the Spurs, Wembanyama was their best player. In 19 minutes, he had 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting and five rebounds. When the ball reached him, all eyes in the arena focused on the 19-year-old and he delivered. The 7-foot-4 center played with grace and handled the ball with elegance usually associated with guards.
Collins had 15 points, five assists and five rebounds. Malaki Branham had 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting.
Both teams’ offenses hummed along. The Thunder scored a franchise-record 74 points in the first half — the most for a preseason game. The second half was a different story as the production wasn’t nearly the same due to the reserves playing the entire final two quarters.
Let’s look at Thunder player grades.