Ballyhooed Victor Wembanyama-Chet Holmgren matchup falls flat

The Oklahoma City Thunder dominated the San Antonio Spurs, 123-87, thanks in large part to Gilgeous-Alexander, who hit plenty of "disgusting" shots on his way to 28 points in three quarters on 10-of-16 shooting. SGA amazed his own teammates and stunned the young Spurs, grabbing seven steals in just three quarters, beating his career high of five.

His performance overshadowed the matchup of two rookie 7-footers. The 7-foot-4 19-year-old Victor Wembanyama and 7-foot-1 21-year-old Chet Holmgren are the two leading candidates for Rookie of the Year. Wembanyama was the top pick in this year's NBA Draft, while Holmgren was the No. 2 pick in 2022, but a Lisfranc injury ended his rookie season before it began.

Tuesday night, the big men simply weren't much of a factor. Wembanyama had 14 rebounds and two blocks, but scored just eight points on 4-of-15 shooting. Holmgren scored nine points on 3-of-10 shooting, adding seven rebounds, two steals and a block.

Each player had their highlights. Wembanyama had a nice drive and dunk early after Holmgren overplayed him for a steal.

The French teenager also blocked his counterpart from behind.

Holmgren also beat Wemby down the court for an easy bucket as a trailer.

Wembanyama and Holmgren really are rivals, dating back to the FIBA Under-19 World Cup Final in July 2021. The then-17-year-old Wembanyama had 22 points, eight rebounds and eight blocks, but fouled out in the fourth quarter as Holmgren and Team USA won 83-81 — a game Wembanyama called the worst basketball memory of his life.

But the main difference right now is their teams. Holmgren's Thunder are loaded with talent and ready to compete right now, with an All-NBA guard in Gilgeous-Alexander. Wembanyama's Spurs are still content to hoard picks and lose games — they're now 3-8. Also, Holmgren has a real point guard in SGA, while the Spurs are trying out 20-year-old Jeremy Sochan at point — maybe that's why they had 24 turnovers.

The first meeting between Holmgren and Wembanyama was anticlimactic. We have a feeling their next 10 years of matchups will live up to the hype.