The Oklahoma City Thunder have a massive void to fill in the rotation after Jalen Williams suffered a gruesome ankle injury in their third game of the 2026-27 season. Logic would typically dictate that third option Chet Holmgren would step into the second option role that Williams occupies when healthy.
Given Holmgren's history, however, it's fair to question if he can be trusted to assert himself in a way that the No. 2 role requires. Now five years removed from being drafted, it's time for Holmgren to decide what type of offensive player he will be.
Perhaps Holmgren is destined to be a Myles Turner type of offensive big. A player who scores with strong volume and offers well-rounded contributions as a shooter and finisher inside, but generally plays off of his teammates rather than asserting himself individually. In many respects, he’s already more complete than Turner while arguably even surpassing his peak on defense.
If that proves to be the case, then the Thunder must be prepared to make the necessary adjustments and accommodations.
Williams is an elite second option when healthy, but the Thunder are now going through a second season during which his availability will be limited. Ajay Mitchell leads the pool of candidates to step up in his place, but Oklahoma City lacks a proven commodity to take on that level of responsibility.
Holmgren has perhaps the most statistically feasible leap to make, but if he continues to lack the assertiveness to do so, then difficult decisions will need to be made.
Chet Holmgren is efficient, but can he assert himself as a No. 2 scorer?
Holmgren turned in a career year in 2025-26, which is certainly a feather in his cap. He averaged 17.1 points per game on .557/.362/.792 shooting, thus setting new career-best marks in scoring and eFG%. He did so while Williams missed 49 games.
Holmgren managing the same type of output in 2026-27 would certainly help, but it must be noted that the Thunder have less perimeter depth after trading Luguentz Dort, Isaiah Joe, and Aaron Wiggins—all of whom stepped up at points in 2025-26.
Furthermore, Holmgren's career-best scoring average was a direct and all but exclusive result of an increase in efficiency—not necessarily assertiveness. He averaged 14.0 field goal attempts per 36 minutes, which is the same number he posted in 2024-25 and 0.2 fewer than he tallied in 2023-24.
With fewer proven scorers and shooters working the wings in 2026-27, the Thunder may need Holmgren to take on a heavier workload in order to win without Williams.
If Holmgren is up to the task, then Oklahoma City should find the path to contending without Williams a manageable one to traverse. If he's unable to score with greater volume, however, then tall tasks will fall to generally unproven players in terms of high-volume scoring roles.
Though Holmgren is still only 24 years of age, this is a turning point in his career as he decides what kind of offensive player he intends to be—and whether or not Oklahoma City needs to reshuffle its scoring hierarchy.
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