In a span of four months, OKC Thunder big man Chet Holmgren went from being bedridden with a right hip fracture to serving as a key contributor in a close-out Game 7 for an NBA Championship.
The 2024-25 campaign was far from a smooth ride for the sophomore baller. He played in just 32 total games during the regular season as a result of injury and, once the playoffs rolled around, clearly struggled to find his rhythm while being reintegrated into the rotation on the fly.
However, under the brightest of lights and in the biggest moment of his career during Sunday's winner-takes-all NBA Finals finale, Holmgren finally answered the calls to step up and, in turn, helped guide the Thunder to their first title of the Sooner State era.
With his exceptional 31 minutes of play on Sunday night, he reminded everyone of just how special a talent he is and how promising the future is for this Oklahoma City squad with him serving as their third option.
Game 7 performance a storybook redemption moment for Thunder big
After two straight putrid performances where he dropped less than 10 points and shot just 6-of-24 throughout, with the fate of the Larry O'Brien Trophy on the line in Game 7, Chet Holmgren found a way to shake off the rust and redeem himself in the best way possible.
Putting his elite two-way abilities on full display, Holmgren played aggressive on both ends of the floor and finished the night off with his second-highest point total of this year's title round with 18 to go along with 8 rebounds and a ridiculous 5 blocks while shooting a lights-out 75.0 percent from the floor and 50.0 percent from deep.
To say he was streaky throughout this year's championship run would be an egregious understatement. For every game in which he scored 15 or more points, along with a block, while shooting over 50.0 percent, he had four others where he registered 14 points or fewer, at least one foul (sometimes as many as 4), and while shooting 44.4 percent or worse.
However, with the pressures turned up to an all-time high, the Thunder stud proved once and for all that he has the ability to step up in high-stakes situations and serve as an invaluable piece on a title-winning team.
Considering they are the youngest club to win an NBA Championship since 1977 at an average age of 25.6 years, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (26), Jalen Williams (24), and Chet Holmgren (23) running the show as their top-three talents for the foreseeable future, OKC seems to have a real shot of becoming the game's next great dynasty.
Before even reaching their primes, they were able to accomplish one of the most dominant seasons the league has ever seen. Just imagine what they can do with both health and experience on their side.