Ups and Downs: Chet Holmgren’s Summer League So Far

Jul 7

Before we even start, I know it has only been two games, so it would be a bit unfair of me to make a complete judgment based on what we have seen. However, with that being said, Chet Holmgren’s first two summer league games have shown his tremendous upside. They have also exposed some potential weaknesses that opponents may try to exploit in the big man’s rookie campaign and in the years to come.

First, we’ll start with the good. Everyone was high on big Chet after a showcase performance of his talent in his first summer league game. The big man went 11-of-13 from the field, including 4-of-6 from three-point range, finishing with 23 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and an NBA Summer League-record six blocks. He showed all the tools that scouts say could make him a force in the NBA for years to come. He had a tight handle, could shoot from range, and most notably, impacted the game greatly with his length defensively. There were a lot of positives to take away from his first summer league performance and left everyone wondering what he would do the next night to follow it up.

After a dazzling display in his first summer league game, all eyes were on the seven-footer going into his second game. His team won pretty convincingly, but there’s no doubt the encore was a step backward for Holmgren. He finished 3-of-11 from the field with 11 points, 12 rebounds, and only two blocks. But, before we get into the negatives, he still positively impacted his team, posting a plus-20 rating in his time on the court. However, the defensive weaknesses were glaring and exposed by Kenny Lofton Jr., the undrafted forward out of Louisiana Tech. The rookie forward had a showcase game of his own in which he shot 8-of-17 from the field on his way to scoring 19 points on the night. Now Lofton Jr. has a big body, but how he was able to bully Holmgren off the dribble and move him off the spot is a glaring concern for the big man. It only accentuates media pundits' questions about Holmgren going into the draft.

Simply put, he’s too skinny, and his body may not be able to withstand the pressure from grown NBA big men throughout an 82-game season. This is Kenny Lofton Jr., a player who, no disrespect, is an undrafted rookie. So what’s going to happen when he goes up against Karl Anthony-Towns, Anthony Davis, or Nikola Jokic, to name a few of the top-tier big men in the Western Conference. His skinny frame is a glaring weakness that will have to be addressed if Holmgren wants to be a franchise-caliber player.