Chet Holmgren still 'one of our guys,' insists Thunder's Sam Presti after ugly Western Conference Finals loss

Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti has never been one to make rash decisions, and his defense of embattled center Chet Holmgren during his lengthy end-of-season interview on Monday seemed to indicate that that won't change this summer after their title defense ended early.

"Chet's one of our guys," Presti said when asked about Holmgren, who had a rough showing in the Thunder's Western Conference Finals defeat to the San Antonio Spurs, and looked overmatched at times against Victor Wembanyama. Notably, Holmgren had just four points on two shots in OKC's Game 7 loss at home.

"He's been so impactful. He drives winning on so many different levels for us," Presti said. "We were sweeping our way to the Western Conference Finals primarily because of his efforts in those series.

"All that to say he didn't have a great series in the last series," Presti continued. "But if you go back and look at some of the greatest players in the game, they all have these moments where they run into defeat or struggle. That's what makes them great players is that they're able to continue to move on from that and improve."

Holmgren was a key part of the Thunder's championship team last season, and 2025-26 was his best regular season yet. He averaged 17.1 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game on 55.7% shooting to earn his first All-Star selection and an All-NBA Third Team nod. He also finished as the runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year and was named to the All-Defensive First Team.

Through the first two rounds of the playoffs, Holmgren was the same player we saw in the regular season, and the Thunder swept the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers to reach the Western Conference Finals. But against the Spurs, Holmgren looked nothing like his usual self, particularly on offense. Wembanyama is one of the best players in the world and has always taken his matchups with Holmgren personally, and it didn't help that the Thunder had to play the majority of that series without Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell.

Even so, it was stunning to see Holmgren fall apart the way he did. Just look at the dramatic drop-off in his numbers from series to series.

In the immediate aftermath of the Thunder's Game 7 loss to the Spurs, there was serious talk about whether Presti should trade Holmgren, who was so timid and irrelevant that it was easy to understand that sort of knee-jerk reaction. It was even easier when considering that the Thunder are likely going to face more battles with Wembanyama and the Spurs over the next few years.

But Presti has never operated that way, and Jake Fischer reported earlier this month that the team is more likely to make moves around the margins than break up its core of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams and Holmgren. Presti's comments on Monday backed up that reporting.

"Two things about Chet I'd also add. One, he's an underdog," Presti said. "We've seen that everywhere. He's being questioned all the time. I watched that guy when he was in high school; people had all kinds of questions and doubts. That's nothing new to this guy. He's used to being an underdog. That's why he fits here so well.

"The other thing about him is this is a guy that is intrinsically motivated," Presti continued. "He doesn't need people questioning him or things on the internet to drive his improvement. The best example of that is we won the Finals last year, won the championship. He was dominant in Game 7 defensively and through a lot of the playoffs. Then, look at how much better he got over the summer. Came into the start of the season with no Jalen (Williams) and he was significantly improved. That's coming off a Finals win.

"He doesn't need somebody to nudge him, he doesn't need somebody to question him. It's just kind of how he's wired. So, I'm not really that concerned about him. This is part of the path that we're on. The good thing is you get to confront those things again and continue to improve, and I'm confident that he'll be ready to go."