Draymond Green gives eye-popping label to Chet Holmgren
By Rylan Stiles
The Oklahoma City Thunder selected Chet Holmgren with the 2nd overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft out of Gonzaga. At the time, the OKC Thunder big man was considered a franchise-altering pick.
After a thrilling Summer League display and multiple jaw-dropping summer runs against NBA talent, Chet Holmgren suffered a devastating Lisfranc Fracture on a compromised Pro-AM court in Seattle. That shelved the seven-footer for the entire 2022-23 season.
During that campaign, the OKC Thunder shocked the NBA world, finishing with 40 wins on their way to an NBA Play-In Tournament bid. In that time, Jalen Williams looked like one of the best rookies in the class, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leaped into Superstardom, and Mark Daigneault finished runner-up for coach of the year.
The OKC Thunder have seen Chet Holmgren impact winning already as a rookie, and Draymond Green has given him a high-level label.
So far, as a rookie through six career games, Holmgren has averaged 17 points, seven rebounds, and two assists per game while swatting two blocks and swiping a steal per game.
Chet Holmgren is shooting 62 percent from the floor, 56 percent from beyond the arc, and 87 percent from the Free Throw Line. Against the Golden State Warriors in the team’s first In-Season Tournament game, Holmgren poured in 24 points, eight rebounds, five assists, a steal, and a block, all on just nine shots.
That led Golden State Warriors big man Draymond Green to praise the OKC Thunder big man.
The future Hall of Famer dubbing Chet Holmgren as a “Problem” after his first six games in the NBA, fresh off a significant injury, as he is still adjusting to the NBA, just shows the ceiling of Holmgren’s game.
After the OKC Thunder’s surprise run and the injury Holmgren dealt with, some wondered if he could reach the lofty ceiling put on him in the pre-draft process. So far, so good for the returns on Chet Holmgren’s NBA career.