There's a legitimate case to be made that the OKC Thunder are the best team in basketball.
From their league-leading defensive and net ratings (106.2 and 12.3, respectively) to their astonishing total point differential of +824 on the season as a whole, this Oklahoma City squad has proven themselves to be truly special.
Yet, despite this dominant on-court production, coupled with their top record in the Western Conference standings at 54-12, according to recent rumblings, the ball club is still not considered to be a feared opponent by many within the league. NBA insider Brian Windhorst even went as far as to reveal that players "don't respect" the Thunder.
Perhaps a fully revitalized Chet Holmgren will alter this shocking perception.
Thunder are undefeated this year when Chet Holmgren scores 20+ points
Throughout the 2024-25 campaign, the Thunder have been plagued by widespread injuries. Most notably, they played without their cornerstone big man, Chet Holmgren, for three months while he rehabilitated a right iliac wing fracture.
During his absence, Oklahoma City managed to stay more than afloat thanks to the efforts of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams, going 32-7 throughout this 39-game span while the duo were selected to participate in the 2025 NBA All-Star Game.
However, even with their league-best record during this period, it was more than evident that Holmgren's presence was sorely missed, and not just on the defensive end.
Before going down against the Warriors on November 10, the center was off to a blistering-hot start, as he was stuffing the stat-sheet with career-highs of 18.2 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 2.9 blocks while shooting a highly efficient 51.9 percent from the floor and 40.0 percent from distance.
In the nine games he was completely healthy for, Holmgren managed to drop 20 or more points on four separate occasions, all of which wound up leading to wins with an average margin of victory being +19.25.
Despite visibly being a bit rusty since returning from his hip injury last month, the 22-year-old has posted such scoring numbers three more times over an 11-game span, most recently with his 23-point showing in a win over the Boston Celtics.
In total, the Thunder are 7-0 this year when Chet Holmgren posts at least 20 points.
Now, while to some, this may be a bit too small of a sample size to get too excited about, perhaps the fact that OKC boasts an elite winning percentage of 81.3 with a record of 26-6 (both regular season and playoffs) in games when the big man drops these types of scoring numbers will move the needle.
Add on the fact that they're outscoring opponents by roughly 12 points on average in these types of outings, and it just goes to show how impactful the club's 7-foot-2 unicorn's offensive punch can be.
With J-Dub slated to be out multiple games with a recently sustained hip injury, now would be the ideal time for Holmgren to find a way to consistently tap into this level of production.
If he can generate momentum in this statistical category, once Williams returns and the postseason kicks in, evidence shows the Thunder will be even more of a handful to deal with.