With the February 15th All-Star game approaching quickly, the OKC Thunder fully expect to be well-represented, as they've been bullying the league since opening night back in late October.
With Shai Gilgeous-Alexander now officially locked in as a starter, the attention has shifted to whether or not big man Chet Holmgren will secure his first career bid.
The Defensive Player of the Year favorite has built a strong case thus far, but various NBA experts have chosen to ignore his resume.
The latest to discount Holmgren's work was sports journalist and podcaster Bill Simmons. His company, The Ringer, published his choices of starters and reserves for the All-Star Game.
Holmgren's name was nowhere to be seen.
Bill Simmons' alternatives to Thunder center are borderline laughable
Instead of including Holmgren on the list of reserves, names like Alperen Sengun, Victor Wembanyama, Deni Avdija, and Julius Randle were all tabbed as possible options for the illustrious exhibition.
While their offensive numbers may look better on paper than the Thunder bigs', it's been his defensive play that's been too dominant not to factor in.
Chet has been the primary reason why OKC has allowed the fewest amount of points per game in the paint this season. His 48.3 percent defensive field goal percentage at the rim ranks first in the league among all players who have played in at least 30 games and are averaging over 25 minutes.
His competition for a reserve spot doesn't even sniff his defensive production.
Sengun has struggled as a rim protector, posting a 59.0 defensive field goal percentage. He also currently has the worst defensive rating of any of the five starters on his team, and opponents are shooting 7.3 percent better against him overall than they are against Chet.
Julius Randle has a 47.7 percent defensive field goal percentage compared to Holmgren's 40.8.
Avdija has been getting dominated on defense. Opponents are shooting almost 50.0 percent when he is guarding them, which is even less impressive given that he usually guards wings.
Wembanyama is the only player with defensive metrics to brag about, though he's played in a mere 28 of his team's 42 games and is in danger of not even qualifying for Defensive Player of the Year.
Simmon's one-dimensional predictions are a slap in the face to Thunder
Simmons showed his willingness to pick teammates in his picks, as he did so with Sengun and Kevin Durant, and Randle and Anthony Edwards.
To do so without giving OKC's second-leading scorer a nod is downright disrespectful, especially given how Holmgren has completely shut down the names that appear on Simmons' ballot in his stead.
Simply put, the fact that OKC has been top dog in the West since day one should be more than enough to warrant its defensive cornerstone earning a trip to the Intuit Dome in February.
His picks should raise some concern, as he is receiving an official media vote for this year's selection. Hopefully, other members of the media have a better sense of how important defense is to the game of basketball, as it appears Bill Simmons is electing to vote based on the simplistic numbers the casual fan can search up on ESPN.