For the rest of their careers, Paolo Banchero and Chet Holmgren will be tied together.
The No. 1 and No. 2 overall picks in the 2022 NBA draft, they have had a baked-in rivalry from the second they joined the NBA brotherhood.
Banchero and Holmgren’s rivalry is only one game deep due to Holmgren’s season ending injury last year, but on Tuesday night, they renewed it for a second time.
As with every NBA game, the individual matchup was secondary in the grand scheme of things, and Holmgren and the Thunder easily won the game 127-113, giving the former Gonzaga standout a 2-0 lead in the overall series.
The game was similar to the first time Oklahoma City and Orlando met back in January. In that game, Banchero had the better individual showcase, posting an impressive 20-9-8 stat line as compared to a pedestrian 15-9-3 for Holmgren. OKC won that game too, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scoring 37 and leading the Thunder to a 112-100 win that was more lopsided than the score suggests.
It’s tough to take to much away from the individual statistics of the players, as Banchero has established himself as Orlando’s primary star while Holmgren often plays third fiddle to Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams on the offensive end.
During Tuesday’s matchup, both of them started slow, but the eye test favored Banchero. Holmgren was struggling with Magic center Mo Wagner, who used his superior strength to get into the chest of Holmgren and score down low, letting Holmgren know with a series of flexes and screeches.
Banchero on the other hand had the game firmly in hand despite his team trailing and the scoring not being there. Banchero used his 6’10 frame to see over and around the defense and get his teammates involved, waiting patiently for scoring opportunity to present itself.
Despite poor offensive showings from Holmgren and Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC went into the half with an eight point lead.
The second half felt different from the first right away. Gilgeous-Alexander got going, Holmgren established himself as the interior force he typically is on the defensive end, and Williams got going as well. For Orlando, Banchero remained unselfish, but took it upon himself to try and keep the Magic in the game.
Banchero quickly lifted his scoring total over 20, also ending up with ten assists by the end of the game.
Holmgren threw down a few notable slams, one over the top of Orlando guard Jalen Suggs, and the other off a lob from Williams where he threw down a reverse slam. Holmgren’s impact is always more felt on the defensive end, and that rung true against Orlando, with the OKC big man swatting away five shots, doing so in emphatic fashion on two of those.
Behind dominant second halves from Williams and Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder pulled away rather easily, but the Holmgren-Banchero match up lived up to every possible expectation. Banchero showed the special offensive talent he is a few times throughout the game, and Holmgren put his dominant shot blocking capability on full display for the nation to see.
Banchero rounded out was a strong offensive showing in the fourth quarter, bringing his totals to 23-10-6, and Holmgren played the part of eraser for OKC as he has all season, putting up an impressive 13-9-1, along with those aforementioned five blocks.
It’s been an interesting rivalry so far. Banchero is clearly the better individual player right now, but Holmgren is filling his role on a very good team to perfection.
OKC completed the season sweep of the Magic, and another chapter was added to the story of the Banchero-Holmgren rivalry, and it will be an interesting one to monitor going forward.
