Victor Wembanyama has become "He Who Must Not Be Named" for Chet Holmgren

Chet Holmgren was at NBA 2K's community day event recently—with other NBA stars, like one of San Antonio's favorite sons, Stephon Castle—when he was asked to name the top five bigs in the league. He couldn't answer the question, perhaps for fear of what would happen if he invoked the Dark Lord himself.

"Next question," Holmgren responded. Now, we all know why OKC's defensive anchor responded this way. Victor Wembanyama is a top-five big man by any reasonable metric you can think of, but Chet did not want to say the Frenchman's name. Instead, he opted to avoid the question altogether.

Chet treats Vic exactly how the wizarding community treated Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter. I don't remember the last time I heard the Thunder center say Wemby's name in an interview. His trouble with the Spurs' franchise superstar is the worst-kept secret in the league, but he doesn't seem to realize that running from questions about Vic only gives more power to his angst.

A "next question" only looks bad because of how he's played

If the DPOY runner-up had actually played well in the Western Conference Finals, giving it back to Wemby just as he was receiving it, nobody would have batted an eye at this response. It could have been simply labeled gamesmanship. Without that alternate reality, it looks like avoidance.

Chet was at his best during the first two rounds of the playoffs. His defensive impact was undeniable, and his offense was incredibly effective and efficient. That all went out the window when Wembanyama showed up, and his numbers plummeted. He only gave OKC 11 PPG, 7 RPG, and 1 BPG in the WCF.

After the series, he was characterized as nervous, scared, and petrified by the matchup, and his postgame presser didn't do much to dissuade those opinions. His NBA 2K rating even dropped this offseason, and it's hard to believe that decision wasn't largely tied to his conference finals performance.

Other players in or close to Wembanyama's tier talk about him totally differently. For one, they're willing to answer questions about the league's next face of the league. They give him his flowers—whether it's Anthony Edwards or Nikola Jokic—but when they're on the floor, both guys try to give Vic the business.

That's how competition should be.

Holmgren brings his competitive fire to every matchup except the one that matters the most. Unfortunately for him, Wemby isn't going anywhere, so he'd better figure out how to face Voldemort head-on, or that crazy report about him possibly getting traded may actually gain some legs.

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