Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren was considered a top-2 defender in the NBA. He only trailed San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama, the 2025-26 Defensive Player of the Year, for the most total votes by 10, 200-190.

The two ‘cream of the crop’ shot blockers are going head-to-head in the Western Conference Finals as you read this. They have disliked each other since the FIBA U19 World Cup in Riga, Latvia, when USA’s Holmgren won the gold medal over France’s Wembanyama. Holmgren won the tournament’s Most Valuable Player Award.

The lanky challenger at the rim is coming off an NBA All-Star appearance for the first time in his career. He’s on the chase for a second-straight NBA championship, becoming only the fourth Zag to win an NBA title last summer (Los Angeles Lakers’ Adam Morrison in 2009 and 2010, Miami Heat’s Ronny Turiaf in 2012, and San Antonio Spurs’ Austin Daye in 2014).

Through 69 starts for the Thunder, the 7-1 talent averaged 17.1 points on a shooting split of 55.7 percent from the field, 36.2 percent on three-pointers, and 79.2 percent at the charity stripe. His 8.9 rebounds per game rank tied for No. 11 in the NBA, while his 1.9 blocks per game are tied for No. 2. Most importantly, the world’s up-and-coming basketball star listed a defensive rating of 104.1.

Arden Cravalho is a Gonzaga University graduate from the Bay Area… Follow him on X @a_cravalho