Rivalries among teams and individual players create for some incredible storylines both in the regular season and in the playoffs.
NBA rivalries have odd shelf lives. However, Oklahoma City Thunder Chet Holmgren could have a career-long rivalry with San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama. Since the Spurs center was selected No. 1 overall in the 2023 NBA Draft — pundits and analysts have sung his praises, claiming him to be the next generational talent.
On top of hearing the praises around the league, Wembanyama was immediately compared to Holmgren, as the two shared a rookie season after the Thunder was sidelined his first year with an injury.
The two battled things out for Rookie of the Year — which ended up in favor of Wembanyama with Holmgren coming in a distant second place. Now, the end of the comparisons isn’t near. With NBA preseason schedules being released, the Thunder have the Spurs on the schedule
This will be the second straight year the two unicorn centers will battle things out in an exhibition slate. They had fun battles during the regular season last year, and if there’s one way to spice up a preseason game, it’s putting two players who aren’t that fond of each other against one another as both have a point to prove.
The rivalry being driven by the NBA comes from the two 7-footers and their unique skill sets while being drafted high in their respective classes. They are each unique talents who had plenty of hype around them heading into the draft, now each of the two are trying to break out as stars in the NBA.
Now, Wembanyama will likely have the upper hand for most of his career. He’s a franchise talent for the Spurs as he’ll most likely be the No. 1 option throughout his prime. Holmgren is the third-best player in Oklahoma City and fits into more of a role rather than being the team’s system.
Still, another year of the two incredible, young talents fighting on the hardwood will be enjoyable.
