Thunder, a day after playoff elimination in West finals, start process of looking ahead

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Chet Holmgren attempted two shots in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals. He absorbed plenty of shots from critics afterward.

And the Oklahoma City Thunder spent Day 1 of the offseason making clear that they support him.

If the ballyhooed matchup in the West finals was Holmgren vs. San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama, then it was a one-sided one. Wembanyama had the superior numbers in the series and the Spurs wound up prevailing, while Holmgren was barely a factor offensively with the Thunder season on the line Saturday night.

"Every minute Chet Holmgren’s been on the team, we’ve been the 1 seed in the Western Conference," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said Sunday, when the team gathered for end-of-season meetings. “And it wasn’t the case before Chet was healthy.”

Holmgren had likely his best season, with career-highs of 17.1 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. He made All-NBA for the first time, All-Defensive for the first time as well, got his first All-Star nod, plus was second in the Defensive Player of the Year balloting.

He finished second in that voting behind Wembanyama — just like he did for Rookie of the Year in 2024, and just like the Thunder did in these West finals.

“We need Chet. We need Chet Holmgren,” Thunder guard and back-to-back reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Before Chet was here, we weren’t who we are today. We didn’t have the success we had today. When he’s the best version of himself, we’re the best version of ourselves and it’s no secret.”

It's easy to envision the West finals matchup — Thunder vs. Spurs — becoming a rivalry for years to come. Both teams have young, obviously highly talented corps, and now they have the ingredient that all rivalries truly need, that being a playoff matchup, to help provide fuel.

“I definitely think that they’re different in terms of I don’t think there’s another team that has their play style, their personnel,” Holmgren said. “They're unique in that way. You can’t just kind of play like a base normal, ‘this is what we kind of do on an average Tuesday night’ type of thing.”

And while the outside world might have looked at Holmgren as one of the reasons why Game 7 didn't go Oklahoma City's way, the rest of the Thunder disagreed.

Gilgeous-Alexander, for example, pointed to himself — and that was after he had a brilliant 35-point effort in the deciding game against San Antonio. He even went as far as to describe a second straight MVP season as “a failure.”

“I failed at my goal,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I didn’t achieve what I wanted to achieve, but through my experiences, I learned the most about myself and I make the greatest amount of increases I have in my career when I fail at my goal and don’t get what I want. And I look at this no different. I didn’t get where I wanted to go this season. There’s a reason for that. Now I have to look at that reason and try to make sure it never happens again.”

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

San Antonio Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson, center, talks with Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) as Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault looks on during the second half of Game 7 of the Western Conference finals of the NBA basketball playoffs series Saturday, May 30, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

San Antonio Spurs guard Dylan Harper (2) goes up for a shot against Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren during the second half of Game 7 of the Western Conference finals of the NBA basketball playoffs series Saturday, May 30, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren, center, grabs a rebound between San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson (3) and Thunder guard Luguentz Dort during the first half of Game 7 of the Western Conference finals of the NBA basketball playoffs series Saturday, May 30, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Oklahoma City Thunder's Isaiah Hartenstein (55), Aaron Wiggins (21), and Chet Holmgren (7) watch the closing moments of their loss to the San Antonio Spurs during the second half of Game 7 of the Western Conference finals of the NBA basketball playoffs series, Saturday, May 30, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort, left, and Thunder centers Isaiah Hartenstein, center, and Chet Holmgren watch the action on the court from the team bench during the second half of Game 7 of the Western Conference finals of the NBA basketball playoffs series against the San Antonio Spurs, Saturday, May 30, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AP) — South Africa’s national men’s soccer team has postponed its travel to Mexico because of visa issues, just 11 days ahead of the World Cup.

Bafana Bafana were supposed to leave for Mexico on Sunday to start its preparations for the tournament. The team is set to play co-host Mexico in the opening game in Mexico City on June 11.

South African Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie had called the situation “embarrassing” but said later on X that the team would now be departing on Monday.

“All @BafanaBafana players received their visas to travel to the USA, outstanding is assistant coach, team doctor, head of security and one analyst,” McKenzie said. “The charter will leave tomorrow.”

“The South African senior men’s national team has experienced challenges regarding visas for some players and officials, and as a result the group could not travel to North America this morning as originally planned,” the South African Football Association said in a statement earlier Sunday.

“SAFA is working around the clock to ensure that the team travels to Mexico City as soon as possible ahead of the opening match of the global tournament,” the statement said.

The team will continue to train in Johannesburg, South Africa, until departure. SAFA said it would provide an update on the situation after an emergency meeting on Sunday evening.

South Africa also faces the Czech Republic and South Korea in Group A.

AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup

FILE - South Africa's Oswin Appollis celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during a World Cup 2026 group C qualifying soccer match between South Africa and Rwanda at Mbombela Stadium, in Nelspruit, South Africa, Oct. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Alfonso Nqunjana, File)

FILE - South Africa players celebrate after a World Cup 2026 group C qualifying soccer match between South Africa and Rwanda at Mbombela Stadium, in Nelspruit, South Africa, Oct. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe, File)

FILE - South Africa players celebrate their side's third goal during a World Cup 2026 group C qualifying soccer match between South Africa and Rwanda at Mbombela Stadium, in Nelspruit, South Africa, Oct. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe, File)