Thunder general manager Sam Presti defended center Chet Holmgren after his struggles against the Spurs in the Western Conference finals.
“He drives winning on so many different levels for us,” Presti said in a press conference on Monday.
“He’s a first-time All-Star, second in Defensive Player of the Year, third-team All-NBA.”
Holmgren’s scoring average dropped from 17.1 points per game to just 10.7 points during the playoff series against the Spurs.
In the most important game of the season, the center managed just two shots for four points in a rough 33 minutes.
Presti, however, isn’t “really that concerned about him.”
“This is a guy that is intrinsically motivated,” Presti added. “He doesn’t need people questioning him or things on the internet to drive his improvement. … 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.”
The struggles against the Spurs weren’t just in the playoffs.
Holmgren hit his yearly average of 17 points just once in the 11 games he played against San Antonio this season. Victor Wembanyama came off the bench in that one game after missing the previous 12 with an injury.
The second overall pick in the 2022 draft took at least nine shots in nine of 10 games leading up to the Western Conference finals. He hit that mark just twice against the Spurs.
Against the Lakers, when there was no Wembanyama, Holmgren averaged 20 points, 9.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks.
“We were sweeping our way to the Western Conference finals primarily because of his efforts in the [Laker] series,” Presti said.
