The Spurs are in Oklahoma City tonight, facing the defending champions, the Thunder, at their home for the fourth time this season. Victor Wembanyama and his team have beaten the defending champions in all their previous meetings this season.
The French starlet ensured he establishes dominance in his matchup against Chet Holmgren tonight from the first minute of the game. Just 52 seconds into the game, he posterized Holmgren with a thunderous dunk despite the Thunder forward’s intense defense that instantly went viral on social media.
Wemby going to WORK inside early 💪
Tap to watch the 1Q on NBC and Peacock: https://t.co/47K0he7AWa pic.twitter.com/ZwqNleNfVO
— NBA (@NBA) January 14, 2026
Minutes later, he slammed another one of Holmgren’s defense after a lob from Stephon Castle. This sequence fired up the Spurs’ fans on social media, who felt like Wembanyama took this matchup personally despite dismissing rivalry rumors.
Stephon Castle finds Wemby for the alley-oop jam ‼️
A give-and-go run to PERFECTION.
Watch here: https://t.co/47K0he7AWa pic.twitter.com/PjViY4ustF
— NBA (@NBA) January 14, 2026
“He is putting on a clinic tonight.”
“Chet is gonna cry in the car in about three hours.”
“He’s Chet’s father at this point.”
“Bro Wemby must really hate Chet.”
The NBA media has been trying to force a rivalry between two players who haven’t even spoken a full sentence to one another directly. But Wembanyama reportedly took it personally when Holmgren won the championship last season.
These two players have been going at it since before they were drafted to the league. But now they are viewed as rivals due to a similar skill set that they possess.
The French wonderkid is currently averaging 17.0 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 3.1 assists in the seven games he has played against Chet Holmgren while shooting 46.0% from the field and 42.9% from beyond the arc.
Meanwhile, the Thunder forward is averaging 14.6 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 2.4 assists while shooting 50.0% from the floor but 37.5% from behind the three-point line.
Therefore, Wembanyama has dominated this matchup in every statistical category except field-goal percentage and is leading their head-to-head record 4-3 before tonight.
Wembanyama also displayed his dominance on the defensive end of the floor and blocked Holmgren’s three-point shot from a distance that fired up fans even more.
Wemby’s length is a sight to behold!
📺 NBC (ET/CT/Select MT) and Peacock pic.twitter.com/w12sGZFDjm
— NBA on NBC and Peacock (@NBAonNBC) January 14, 2026
While fans were mostly hyped due to the rivalry context between these two players, some fans were also frustrated seeing this matchup for the fourth time within a span of four weeks.
“How many times do they play the Thunder bro?”
“They play every week, I swear to god 😭😭.”
“Have they not played like five times already this season?”
Tonight’s game marks the fourth meeting since, and they will face off once again on February 4 to close off the regular season series between the teams.
The Thunder played the Spurs for the first time this season on December 13th in Vegas due to their matchup in the NBA Cup. This matchup has now allowed these two teams to see each other five times in the regular season.
Therefore, despite dispelling the rumors of a rivalry between the duo, this matchup is trending towards must-watch basketball every time these two teams face off on the court.
