De'Aaron Fox Shades Chet Holmgren After Flagrant Foul, On-Court Fight in Spurs' Loss to Thunder

The Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs wasted little time reigniting their intense rivalry when De'Aaron Fox received a Flagrant 1 foul for a play against Chet Holmgren in the second quarter.

Fox had his arm wrapped around Holmgren's waist, then the Thunder center fell to the ground trying to catch a pass, leading to a skirmish on the court between the two teams.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Fox implied Holmgren was doing some good acting with how he sold the fall.

"[If] somebody grabs you like that and you go flying on the floor like that, you've got other problems to worry about," Fox said. "I didn't throw him that hard, I promise you."

The aftermath of the initial play also cost the Thunder because Jalen Williams, Jaylin Williams and Kenrich Williams all received a technical foul. Holmgren made both of his flagrant free throws. Victor Wembanyama made both technical free throws.

So the end result was negated with both teams getting two points out of the situation.

Holmgren's involvement in the play does add more spice given the well-documented rivalry between him and Wembanyama that dates back to 2021 when Holmgren led Team USA to a victory over Wembanyama and France in the FIBA U-19 World Cup gold-medal game.

One of the big storylines coming out of the Western Conference Finals last season was Holmgren's struggles against the Spurs, particularly his four points on two field-goal attempts in Oklahoma City's Game 7 loss.

Tuesday night provided a modicum of redemption, as Holmgren finished with 14 points, seven rebounds and four blocks to help the Thunder start the 2026-27 season with a 116-104 win over the Spurs.