Chet Holmgren Is Ready for a Dominant Rookie Campaign

Image credit: Gregory Shamus, Getty Images

After Chet Holmgren missed his entire first season with a Lisfranc injury in his right foot, he looks better than ever coming off his first summer league game in nearly a year. Holmgren originally sustained this injury while trying to defend LeBron James on a fast break during a pro-am game in Seattle. Naturally, many questions arose about Holmgren’s ability to stay healthy and manage his body going forward. If Holmgren severely injured his foot trying to defend LeBron James, then how will he be able to hold his own throughout an 82-game season? First, when looking at the video of Holmgren’s injury, it looks like he just misstepped and came down on his right foot awkwardly, so that’s more of a freak injury than anything else. Furthermore, Holmgren is primarily known for his defensive prowess, as he averaged just under four blocks per game at Gonzaga and can keep up with guards on the perimeter with his mobility and fluidity. Sure, Holmgren can get bullied a bit defensively down low, and bigger players have an easier time backing him down on the block, but Holmgren makes up for it with timely blocks and an overall unique presence around the rim that alters many shots in the paint. Additionally, Holmgren has an exceptional work ethic, and he continues to build more strength and muscle to handle the daily grind of the NBA. There’s no doubt Holmgren will be ready for his first official season, and he showed some excellent poise and skill in his first game of the 2023 summer league in Utah. Despite a slow first-quarter start, he finished with 15 points, nine rebounds, four blocks, and three turnovers. Given Holmgren’s solid all-around performance (which led to a 10-point Thunder win), it’s no surprise that he expressed, “It’s like the injury never happened,” in a postgame interview while his teammates embraced him.

If Holmgren can stay healthy, he’ll be the missing piece that the Thunder need to secure a playoff spot next season. The Thunder were already one play-in win away from a playoff birth in the 2023 season without having a true center in their rotation. Holmgren fills that void perfectly as he’ll turn the Thunder’s excellent defense into an elite one. With the lockdown perimeter defense of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luguentz Dort, and Jalen Williams combined with Holmgren’s shot-blocking and paint presence, the Thunder may have a top-five defense in 2024. Holmgren is a game-changer in every way defensively, so if he shoots efficiently from three (which he has shown in both college and in the summer league the past two years) and runs the floor well, he’ll be the catalyst to a Thunder playoff berth. Holmgren will also have an elevated chance of winning Rookie of the Year (ROY) because he'll likely have better team success than most of the other projected ROY candidates. He may not put up the most eye-popping numbers at first, but team success and defensive impact should be huge factors in Holmgren potentially winning the ROY award. With Holmgren’s return, the OKC Thunder have executed a perfect rebuild since trading away Russell Westbrook and Paul George, so now it’s time for this team to take the next step as a consistent playoff and championship contender.