Chet Holmgren Bashed Online After Epic ‘Flop' vs. Lakers
Chet Holmgren has only known success since entering the NBA.
After missing his rookie season due to injury, he’s only been a part of an Oklahoma City Thunder team looking to create the first real dynasty of the decade.
At 24, Holmgren is already considered one of the best defensive players in the sport, elevating a Thunder team already stockpiled with talent and helping them to reach an even higher level when he is protecting the basket.
But even though Holmgren’s Thunder are undefeated in the postseason and en route to possibly a second-straight championship, finding any positivity about the former Gonzaga big man online is tough.
On Friday, the Thunder came back from a first-half deficit against the Los Angeles Lakers to go up 2-0 in their Western Conference semifinal series, and the second-half performance from the champions isn’t what people were talking about after the game.
Holmgren went viral during the game, and not for good reasons.
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During the first quarter, Holmgren threw his head back to draw a foul under the basket. While the speed of the game made it appear as if the Thunder 7-footer might have taken an elbow to the chin, the replay showed that Holmgren embellished the contact to get the call.
Fans from Los Angeles to Shanghai let Holmgren hear about it, along with the rest of the Thunder players, on social media.
Although the call was ultimately overturned, it didn’t stop fans from watching and the Lakers themselves from having issues with the officiating. The Lakers converged on the referees following the game to air their grievances.
L.A. will need to hope they don’t flop in their return home, now in a must-win position for Game 3 on Saturday to get back in the series.
Luka Doncic, the league’s leading scorer, is still sidelined with a hamstring strain and is not expected to be activated for Saturday’s contest.
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This story was originally published May 8, 2026 at 3:53 PM.