The NBA Cup match-up between the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder gives us the first meeting with extra incentive for a budding young NBA rivalry. Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren have shown an intensity on the court when playing against each other to start the feud. Various past comments added more drama of both big men having animosity towards the other.
Prime Sports’ analyst and Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki didn’t like seeing Wembanyama show a lack of respect for Holmgren in a pre-game interview:
“I do want to say I didn’t love his answer about Chet. I wish he would’ve given him a little credit. You can say, hey they have the MVP, Shai is incredible, but Chet is a champ and I want to play hard against him. I didn’t love that answer. To me, it was too swaggy, too dismissive of Chet.”
Nowitzki spent his entire NBA career by showing respect and professionalism to his opponents. Few personal rivalries or dismissing comments make it harder for him to relate to this. Wembanyama clearly doesn’t enjoy Holmgren, which Nowitzki might not have known before seeing the interview footage tonight.
How Wemby Got Dirk Nowitzki’s Criticism
The interview in question featured Dirk’s fellow Prime broadcaster Taylor Rooks asking Wembanyama about his rivalry with Holmgren heading into the NBA Cup semi-finals game. Wembanyama clearly felt annoyed about it and chose to compliment Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, while implying he’s responsible for Holmgren’s success.
“The MVP is on that court, he’s our main focus,” Wemby said to Rooks. “Anybody is hard to guard when you have to help on the MVP.” The commentary confirmed that Wembanyama thinks that Holmgren’s success of putting up great numbers and winning a title comes from having Gilgeous-Alexander on the court with him.
The Spurs clearly rely on Wembanyama more than the Thunder will ever rely on Holmgren to showcase the difference in their roles. Wembanyama doesn’t like that Holmgren is the player most compared to him, and the off-court comments indicate why the rivalry is growing more each season.
Is Dirk Nowitzki Being Fair?
Nowitzki never insulted opposing players during his playing career and was considered the ultimate professional. The concept of two young players having beef and insulting each other through cryptic comments represents the opposite of Dirk’s approach to the game. Nowitzki winning the 2011 NBA Championship was his payback for Miami Heat stars LeBron James and Dwyane Wade mocking his illness that series.
In fairness to Nowitzki, Wembanyama went well out of his way to answer a question about Holmgren by saying it’s easier for him to play with the MVP. That level of a direct shot does show some disrespect that is rarely showcased between players today.
NBA fans are not used to hearing Nowitzki’s opinions about current topics in the NBA, but it makes sense that he feels this way. Nowitzki believes in letting one’s play doing the talking, so it only makes sense he thinks Wembanyama went out of his way to throw shade at another great player.
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