You needed to be there on Wednesday night time when Chet Holmgren, all seven-foot-one of him, pushed the ball in transition, absorbed contact from a 230-pound Jeremy Sochan and, switching to his left hand, went up for what would in any other case have been the sort of deft end few males his dimension have ever been able to. And it doubtless would’ve gone down for a cool and-one have been it not for a fair bigger younger man — Victor Wembanyama — timing his personal soar to obliterate the try the shot on the rim. The official name on the ground of a foul did little to stifle the response from the San Antonio crowd, delirious and righteous and solely mildly invested within the final result of the sport, whereas Holmgren headed to the road so as to add to the Thunder’s lead in what grew to become a rout over the Spurs.
You needed to be there — and by there I imply the web — when one person shared a clip of the play and opined, “Chet impacts successful on the next stage, apparent ROY,” to which another person replied “lol Wemby clears Chet.” Or one thing. I overlook.
Heading to the Frost Financial institution Middle via Wednesday’s downpour, I made certain to not deny myself the total Chet vs Wemby expertise, sloshing my cool, moist toes to my perch on media row a couple of minutes earlier than tipoff, opening my laptop computer and firing up social media.
All through the night time, as Holmgren made good on his stretch-5 profile by pulling down threes, as Wembanyama made reads out of triple groups and bullied his approach across the paint, as the 2 rookies (each high 3 in blocks amongst all NBA gamers) mixed for 7 rejections on the night time, Twitter customers diligently reminded each other that one was by far the higher prospect or extra deserving of the rookie award. Simply think about what he’d be doing in that man’s state of affairs!
Wembanyama’s gaudier highlights and statline led somebody behind an account probably titled DaigneaultMuse to recommend that he’s padding stats on a nasty staff — and likewise, uh, scoreboard, pal.
Somebody was in the course of a thread on Wembanyama’s damning effectivity numbers when Wembanyama referred to as for a display screen from Blake Wesley, took one other from Devin Vassell again in direction of the center of the courtroom and, preserving Holmgren on his hip, driove proper then spun left to put the ball in on the rim over Holmgren’s outstretched arms. A smattering of boos for Josh Giddey.
A Holmgren blowby in opposition to the smaller and theoretically extra cellular Keldon Johnson, ending with a straightforward flush. A remark by a distinguished media member you would possibly observe daring the world to only think about what Wemby might do if taking part in alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and going through nightlong single protection. Extra boos for Giddey.
In an in any other case meaningless 4th quarter, Wembanyama drives at Holmgren from past the three-point line, dunking it and holding his stare as Holmgren inbounds the ball. Moments later the Thunder massive lowers his shoulder into Wembanyama, seemingly matching the Frenchman’s power and appropriately dinged with an offensive foul. As the gang, nonetheless unbothered by the ballooning deficit, erupts as soon as extra, you’d be justified in asking: are we watching the following nice participant rivalry unfold — on the league’s Rivalry Week no much less, an ideal matchup of younger and equally larger-than-life stars? Can the Spurs entrance workplace do proper by their younger star, by the pair of them, hell, by us and the sport itself, in constructing a contender to match the one rising in Oklahoma? Merely pose this immediate into the abyss, to which a thousand unblinking accounts will — appropriately, technically — let you already know, “internet score is a staff stat, not a person one.” My toes are chilly they usually miss the contact of grass.
