OKC Thunder star Chet Holmgren left much to be desired with his offensive game this past postseason, particularly during the Western Conference Finals, where he registered a mere 10.7 points per game and a miserable four-point performance in his club's Game 7 loss to the Spurs.
Fortunately, this slump hasn't left him sulking this offseason. In fact, since Oklahoma City's elimination, he's frequently been spotted in the gym and running drills on the hardwood with a clear aim of bettering himself for the season ahead.
His most recent summer sighting was captured on NBA trainer Jamal Lovell's Instagram account, where he was seen dropping bucket after bucket in one-on-ones, most notably against former Thunder cornerstone and current Rockets star Kevin Durant, arguably the ideal player Chet could spar against.
Kevin Durant a perfect offseason partner for Thunder star to work with
If there's anyone who Holmgren should aspire to mold his offensive game after, it's KD.
Despite the disdain Thunder fans may still feel for their once-beloved franchise superstar, they, too, know this to be true.
Like Chet, Durant is a long and lanky 7-footer who boasts an innate ability to serve as a three-level offensive threat.
Granted, no one should ever expect Holmgren to ever match Durant's abilities on the offensive side of the ball. After all, he's one of the most electrifying and overall sound scoring weapons the game has ever seen.
However, playing pick-up against such a talent presents the opportunity for the youngster to pick up a thing or two when it comes to creating his own offense and getting his shot up more efficiently when in tight coverage, both attributes he desperately needs to add to his repertoire.
Now, this isn't the first time the two have been found putting in offseason work. Just two summers ago, they were spotted in the gym together, similar to this year's run.
It's worth noting that what came after these offseason workouts was a tremendous start to the 2024-25 campaign for Chet, where he was averaging 18.2 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 2.9 blocks on 51.9 percent shooting from the floor and 40.0 percent shooting from deep before going down with a right iliac wing fracture, and then an All-Star and All-NBA earning 2025-26 season where he posted a career-high 17.1 points per game once he returned to full health.
Perhaps one may wish to call it a coincidence, but the fact still remains that the Thunder stud brought his game to higher levels after the last highly publicized one-on-one workout he had with Durant.
Hopefully, the same can be said after this one too.
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