The OKC Thunder beat the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 5 at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma to proceed to the NBA Finals after over a decade. The Thunder’s resilience on defense to put the clamps on Anthony Edwards for most of the series made this a lesson to remember for Edwards and the Timberwolves. To ensure that Edwards doesn’t forget who beat him, Chet Holmgren, the Thunder player, further added salt to his wounds.
Holmgren took to social media and subtly reminded Edwards about his own words from back in February 2025. He posted his pictures from the WCF on Instagram with the caption:
“Welcome home Chet”
Holmgren was born and brought up in Minneapolis, Minnesota. For him, even an away game in this series was a home game. But the victory over Edwards was the cherry on the cake.
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The caption was a reference to Edwards’ words from February after a poster dunk over Holmgren. It was a subtle reminder from Holmgren that Edwards may have gotten the highlight and the win in the regular season, but when the stakes were at the highest and it mattered the most for them to win, it was Holmgren and his team, the Thunder, who came out on top.
The Thunder won the seven-game series in just five games (4-1). Holmgren averaged 18.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in those games. Meanwhile, Edwards averaged 23.0 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 4.6 assists in the same series. While the numbers may indicate that Edwards was more impactful and better, what matters the most in basketball is team success, and Holmgren ensured that better than Edwards.
Edwards himself even acknowledged during the series that Holmgren was the difference maker for them in Thunder’s Game 4 win at Minnesota. Of course, since the league’s reigning MVP is on the Thunder (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander), Holmgren’s numbers are nowhere close to Edwards’ as he’s not the No. 1 option on the team, however, it was Holmgren who got the last laugh.
What Anthony Edwards Said To Chet Holmgren In February
In a regular-season Timberwolves vs. Thunder game in February, Edwards posterized Chet Holmgren in the process of leading Minnesota to a 116-101 win. After the game, Timberwolves media caught up with Edwards to ask him about the poster dunk on the Minnesota native.
“All I was thinking for real was, he wasn’t denying me because usually they deny me. And then Jaden caught it, I’m like “Let me see that, Slim!” and just ripped quick. And all I was thinking was like, ‘he’s not going to jump’ and he [Holmgren] came over like he was a little scared, I’m not going to lie. I don’t think he jumped to block it, he just wanted to be on the reel. Shout out to Chet, welcome home, baby.”
they never learn their lesson. 🤷♂️ pic.twitter.com/xHfgOWeD18
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) February 14, 2025
This did not age well for Edwards as Holmgren seemingly used his words to roast his team’s loss in the Western Conference Finals.
