Ahead of Sunday night's Game 4 matchup with the San Antonio Spurs, the Oklahoma City Thunder received exciting news.
Not only had Shai Gilgeous-Alexander made his well-deserved appearance as a member of the All-NBA first team, but Chet Holmgren earned a nod to the third team. Based on his regular season performance, Holmgren is more than a worthy recipient of the honor.
Across 69 games, he averaged 17.1 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 1.7 assists while shooting 55.7% from the field. He finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting, and he was in the top-six in defensive estimated plus-minus, per Dunks & Threes. For stretches of the regular season, it seemed as though he had finally bucked some of the narratives surrounding his lack of offensive aggression and toughness in the paint.
But those whispers have again reared their ugly heads against Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs. For another third option on a championship-contending team, perhaps a stretch of offensive passivity would be acceptable.
Holmgren's All-NBA selection, however, serves as a reminder of just what he should be for the Thunder in this series. With both Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell out, Holmgren now has nowhere to hide.
The Thunder need Chet Holmgren to prove worthy of his All-NBA selection over the remainder of this series
Holmgren's box-score stats across the first three games of this series show, at the very least, a slight dip in production. Between Games 1, 2, and 3, he averaged 11.7 points, five rebounds, and one assist on 50% shooting from the field. With Victor Wembanyama on the court, this level of scoring is understandable.
But Holmgren has not been an effective rebounder or a defender in this series. He's gotten beaten for loose balls far too often by San Antonio's smaller guards. Apart from a couple highlight-worthy blocks, he also hasn't really been a deterrent in the paint.
Things came to a head in Game 4, though. While Oklahoma City's offense went completely stagnant, Holmgren was nowhere to be found. He went 3-for-8 from the field on the night, posting just 10 points, four of which came from the free-throw line.
With Mitchell and Williams out, the Thunder desperately need Holmgren to take the mantle upon himself. Even with Wembanyama present in the paint, Holmgren needs to be more aggressive in drawing contact or capitalizing off of the drives of his teammates.
It's what an All-NBA-caliber player should be prepared to do for his team in the playoffs. Hopefully Game 5 bears a shift in mentality for the fourth-year center.
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