Fortunately, the San Antonio Spurs don’t have the next Ben Simmons on their roster. But they could facilitate a similar collapse.
For the first four seasons of Simmons’ NBA career, there were signs that he was a less-than-perfect player, but he still seemed poised to go down as a legend. Sure, he didn’t like to shoot and was totally ineffective from deep. But he was an elite passer, one of the best defenders in the game, and the best “big guard” in the NBA.
Winning Rookie of the Year, making three All-Star games, and finishing top five in DPOTY voting twice doesn’t just happen. He was a superstar. Then he ran into Trae Young.
In the first round of the 2021 NBA playoffs, Simmons averaged 14.8 points and was less than one assist shy of a triple-double. His defense was excellent, too. Then, in the second round against the Atlanta Hawks, he passed up a layup opportunity over Young simply because he was scared of being fouled. Fans, the Sixers, and the rest of the league turned on him, and he was never the same player.
If Chet Holmgren doesn’t play his cards right, he could befall a similar fate.
San Antonio Spurs Are in Holmgren’s Head
At the start of the 2023 NBA season, Chet Holmgren and Victor Wembanyama were touted as rivals. Of course, a “rivalry” suggests that they’re on the same level.
Wemby took that personally. He blew him out of the water in Rookie of the Year voting, and seems to have the OKC Thunder’s number ever since.
In the Western Conference Finals, Holmgren didn’t have a single lowlight like Simmons did, but he was clearly scared, passing up more than his fair share of open shots. He did not look like someone who wanted the ball in his hands.
Heading into the 2026-27 season, the only thing Holmgren has to do is prove that he’s not scared of Wemby. As we saw with Simmons, that kind of mental blockade can ruin a career.
“If he has a stinker or keeps turning down wide-open shots, everyone’s like, ‘What are you doing?’ Everyone will immediately be like, ‘Well, Spurs are going to beat them again,’” said JE Skeets on The Athletic NBA Daily show. “Like, that’ll just be the narrative no matter what. He’s under pressure.”
Last season, against the Spurs, Holmgren averaged just 10.5 points on 7.75 field goal attempts per game. That was in the regular season. In the playoffs, he took even fewer shots.
Holmgren, like Simmons, is an excellent player who should be one of the faces of his generation. For now, though, he’s so intertwined with the Spurs, which isn’t a good thing.
“Chet has reached that as a player where he could be a Defensive Player of the Year candidate, and it just doesn’t matter until he does it against San Antonio,” added Alex Speers.
The Spurs and Thunder are expected to meet again in the Conference Finals. All eyes will be on Holmgren. Out of everyone in the NBA, he has the most to prove.
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