Wembanyama shuts down Chet rivalry talk after Spurs statement win over OKC

Victor Wembanyama couldn't have been firmer when he was finally directly asked whether he believes he and Chet Holmgren have a rivalry. "No, I don't think about that. At least from a basketball standpoint, there's no comparison," he responded to Maxime Aubin. It doesn't get any clearer than that, and that's exactly what I've been trying to tell people.

When you watched that game last night, there's no way anyone should have been thinking about Wemby vs. Chet. There isn't really ever a back and forth there. It's usually just Vic dominating Holmgren, unless OKC helps him on defense. The San Antonio star is several levels above the Thunder's talented center, and there's nothing wrong with acknowledging that.

You wouldn't compare The Lion King to Interstellar. One is a fun kids' movie, and the other is pure cinema. Instead, everyone should follow the example that I'm about to set right now by focusing on the game between these two teams. That's where the real rivalry will be.

Spurs are proving they're on OKC's level right now

I keep hearing that this OKC team is in a tier above everyone else, and that's not what I see when I watch these two play. In fact, the Spurs have looked like the better team in at least six of the eight quarters they've faced off. Obviously, San Antonio has to sustain it, prove it in the playoffs, and blah, blah, blah, but we can't speed run to the future. We can only take things one game at a time and talk about what we're witnessing.

I'm not going to be shy about making declarations based on the evidence in front of my eyes. Let everyone else remain humble. That's not really my style. I know we're supposed to revere the 2024-25 champions, but that was last year's success. This is a new season.

When you go player for player down each roster, you quickly realize that San Antonio has caught up to the Thunder in talent very quickly. They were dominated by Keldon Johnson, Harrison Barnes, and Dylan Harper last night. They couldn't stop Stephon Castle, and they're still scared to challenge Wembanyama around the rim.

Matchups are everything in this league, and the Spurs clearly match up with the defending champs very well. San Antonio has comparable size in their bigs and wings, but our best player is a generational alien. Their star is a regular guy who worked hard to reach his dreams, but he didn't come with any transcendent abilities. That matters.

SGA just won the MVP and led his team to the championship trophy, and there are zero general managers in the league who would take him over Wemby right now. There's a reason for that. We're still not even getting a fully healthy Spurs team, and look what they're doing. Vic is still coming off the bench on a minutes restriction.

These two will play each other again on Christmas, but that game will be in Oklahoma City. If the Silver and Black knock off that team at home, going up 3-0 on them this season, the NBA is pretty screwed right now—not later.