Wembanyama-Holmgren head-to-head stats highlight one obvious fact

The last time Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren faced off, the shot block heard 'round the world was captured and etched into the minds of hoops fanatics as an all-time play. Seeing two guys with the size of Wemby and Chet in one-on-one situations face up and isolate each other is still mind-boggling, but it makes for amazing highlights.

Look past the Wembanyama vs. Chet narrative

As fun as it is to watch the two unicorns go head-to-head, how they're measured against each other is inadequate. While talented, Holmgren is not looked to as the premier player on the Thunder's roster—Shai Gilgeous-Alexander holds that title. Wemby, on the other hand, is the focal point of the Spurs' offense, making him the focus of the Thunder's defensive game plan.

Wembanyama spoke to this one day when he highlighted the fact that he is usually forced to deal with consistent double teams, whereas Chet gets to go one-on-one because you can't leave the other players from OKC, one of the best three-point shooting teams in the league, open.

Last season, the Thunder had the highest three-point percentage in the league at 38.9%. That gives your team a ridiculous amount of space to work in the middle of the court, and this is the NBA. Players are supremely talented, and most will find ways to score more times than not when they have the room to operate.

San Antonio was on the opposite side of the spectrum last season. As the 28th-ranked team from deep, there was no reason for OKC to pay as close attention to the players on the wing, so they were able to collapse on Wemby more, sending the primary defender help almost every time the reigning Rookie of the Year put the ball on the floor—which highlights the biggest key to tonight's game.

If the other guys don't show up, it won't matter if Wemby explodes

The very first time the Spurs played the Thunder last season, Wemby was ill-prepared for the intensity OKC brought to the table. He was still feeling his way through adjusting to a different style of basketball from the gameplay overseas, and it showed in his inconsistency. He finished that game with eight points, 14 rebounds and two blocks on 27% shooting from the field.

Throw that one away. It hadn't even been a month into the season at that point, and the team was still experimenting with Jeremy Sochan at point guard. Many things should be disregarded during that episode.

In their first rematch, Wemby came to play and dropped 24 points on 50% shooting while adding on 12 boards, four assists, and four blocks, resulting in a 140-114 loss. Chet played well in that game, too, putting up 17 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and three blocks, but the Alien clearly outclassed him.

However, it didn't matter one iota because SGA went ballistic—he scored 32 points on 15 shots—Jalen Williams was a problem, Aaron Wiggins dropped 22 points, and even Josh Giddey, who had the worst year of his career last season, added 12 points on efficient shooting.

The one game San Antonio won was their third matchup on February 29, and it was a total team effort. Wemby and Devin Vassell poured in 28 points apiece, Jeremy Sochan dropped 21, and Tre Jones added 17. Even Zach Collins had an efficient night with 13 points after going 5-7 from the field.

Wembanyama is developing a reputation for showing up in a big way for the big games, and if the Spurs want to steal this game while they're missing Vassell, every single player who steps on the floor must be ready to play clean, be aggressive, and above all, make their shots.

OKC is too good to think you can win a low-scoring affair. Unfortunately, they're also one of the best defensive teams in the league. The Thunder are 12-point favorites for a reason, and if the Spurs want to prove the oddsmakers wrong, every player better lock-in.