The hope is that OKC Thunder forward Jalen Williams will be ready to go for the club's regular season tip-off later on this month following offseason wrist surgery.
Of course, despite all signs pointing toward the operation being a success, and guys like Ajay Mitchell raving about his newly improved left-hand game, official guarantees regarding the All-Star's availability have yet to be made.
In fact, GM Sam Presti kept things rather coy last week when discussing his potential return to action, saying that "we'll see where we are" with Williams' rehab and recovery once training camp concludes.
Even if he does get the green light to be inserted into the lineup for October 21's ring night, there's no guarantee that he'll be back to 100 percent right from the jump, meaning that, at least during the early stages of the campaign, the role of number two scoring option behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander could be up for grabs while J-Dub eases back into the swing of things.
To the folks at Bleacher Report, should this wind up being the case, it could serve as the opportunity big man Chet Holmgren has been waiting for to achieve official star status.
Thunder big Chet Holmgren predicted to be a first-time All-Star
During a recent piece penned by Grant Hughes, the soon-to-be fourth-year big man was predicted to be a first-time All-Star in 2025-26, and the trajectory of Williams' wrist recovery is argued as a major contributing factor in him accomplishing such a feat.
Whether he's held to sub-full strength or simply out of the rotation entirely to start to year, Hughes suggests that Williams' health status could create "a massive opportunity" for Holmgren to play the role of Robin to Gilgeous-Alexander's Batman on the offensive end, which, in turn, could be a major boon for the 23-year-old.
Already, we've seen just how sensational a healthy Holmgren can be for the Thunder in the scoring department, even with Shai and Dub on the floor alongside him.
Through the nine full games he played prior to his right iliac wing fracture that plagued him for the majority of last season, the center dropped impressive and highly efficient averages of 18.2 points on 51.9 percent shooting from the field and 40.0 percent shooting from deep.
Mind you, this was while serving merely as the team's third option.
In the event that Williams is held out or slowly eased back into the swing of things while active, Hughes believes that the Thunder stud could easily "crack 20.0 points per game on excellent efficiency."
If paired alongside a continually improving rebounding game, top-five block-per-game averages, and an increased long-range shooting volume, the seasoned writer suggests that it would all make for "an easy All-Star profile."