Chet Holmgren takes subtle shot at Victor Wembanyama after Spain win

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Spain's suffocating defense ended France's FIFA World Cup dreams Tuesday, and it didn't take long for that result to ripple into the NBA.

Chet Holmgren, the Oklahoma City Thunder center whose rivalry with Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama has become one of the league's most talked-about storylines, posted a subtle message on social media celebrating Spain's 2-0 win in the Semifinal. And many on social media quickly read it as a jab at his French rival.

"Shoutout to Spain and shoutout to Lamine Yamal that kid is a problem," Holmgren wrote via Threads.

Chet Holmgren HATES Wemby so much he congratulated Spain for beating France 😭 pic.twitter.com/kWRaUz7mpH

— BrickCenter (@BrickCenter_) July 15, 2026

The timing set off speculation given how deep Holmgren and Wembanyama's history is. They first collided on the international stage in 2021 at the FIBA U19 World Cup Final in Riga, Latvia. In that thrilling matchup, Holmgren and Team USA narrowly edged out Wembanyama’s France squad with an 83–81 victory, and Holmgren was ultimately named the tournament MVP

However, Wembanyama got the last laugh this year. San Antonio eliminated Oklahoma City in an intense, seven-game Western Conference Finals series in May. Wemby outplayed Holmgren throughout the series, earning Western Conference Finals MVP honors and leading the Spurs to their first NBA Finals appearance since 2014.

Against that backdrop, Holmgren's congratulatory message to Spain can easily be interpreted as a continuation of the rivalry between the two big men, even though Holmgren never explicitly mentioned Wemby, who is a native of Le Chesnay, France.

While it may just be a meme for now, any interaction in a rivalry this heavily scrutinized will be viewed as beef, even a simple soccer shoutout.