Mark Daigneault admits Chet Holmgren's struggles were an overall team issue

While Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was playing out of his mind in Game 7, it was clear that he was struggling with his supporting cast. Since Ajay Mitchell and Jalen Williams were injured, Chet Holmgren was the player many people expected to step up.

Unfortunately for Holmgren and the Oklahoma City Thunder, he only scored four points while putting up only two shots. Considering he is an All-NBA player in the 2025-26 season, this was a disappointing performance.

Chet Holmgren's struggles were a team-wide issue

The San Antonio Spurs' Victor Wembanyama was the clear-cut best big man in the series. Considering he has a long-standing one-sided rivalry with Holmgren, it was clear that he was motivated to beat his counterpart.

Bizarrely, it seemed that Holmgren wanted no part of the budding rivalry between him and Wemby. The Spurs' superstar took advantage of this and cemented his spot as the best big man among them with his assertiveness.

MORE: Inside all of Chet Holmgren's struggles against the Spurs

Game 7 was Holmgren's worst performance, which led to people questioning his long-term fit with the Thunder. There were even questions directed at Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault about how he can get the most out of Holmgren, and he took accountability for not helping his player.

"Some of that is on me, some of that is the way we approach the game. That's not all on him, I thought he played his minutes well. That run at the end of the second quarter that got us back, he was a huge part of that in ways that aren't visible on the box score," Daigneault said after Game 7 about Holmgren's performance.

Unfortunately, this will be a series that Holmgren has to consider. He needs to redeem himself from this series, and that will require him to play much better against Wembanyama.

It was clear that he struggled in this series, and he was visibly distraught after Game 7. Moving forward, it will be up to the Thunder to maximize everyone on the roster, as this will probably be the first of many series between the two teams.

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