Thunder's approach is clearer after Holmgren perfectly answers burning question

Chet Holmgren took the league by storm during his debut 2023-24 season with the OKC Thunder, as he showcased his elite two-way potential on the hardwood while manning the starting center position for all 82 games on the year.

Of course, despite his excellent production as the primary five and second-place finish in the Rookie of the Year race, following their semifinals elimination against the much more physically dominant Dallas Mavericks, it became evident both among the fanbase and well as within the organization that the team needed to add size to their frontcourt rotation to mask the youngster's limitations.

While Holmgren measures in at a mesmerizing 7-foot-1, his 208-pound featherweight weigh-in is something that opposing players with a more meaty and muscular build tended to capitalize on and attack during his first year in the league.

Because of this, during the 2024 free agency period GM Sam Presti opted to go out and find a complementary big to pair alongside Holmgren down low in Isaiah Hartenstein, who was fresh off a career-best campaign with the New York Knicks before agreeing to terms on a three-year, $87 million deal with Oklahoma City.

With his enviable 7-foot, 249-pound frame coupled with his abilities to defend the rim and gobble up rebounds, from an on-paper perspective many viewed the 26-year-old as an ideal addition to this title-hungry roster.

However, with the signing, pundits and the franchise's faithful followers began to highlight one major fear concerning whether Holmgren and Hartenstein can co-exist within a lineup together being both are believed to prefer playing the pivot.

Though there are still several months separating now and the actual NBA season where an answer will finally be revealed regarding this burning question, during a recent appearance on
Podcast P with Paul George, Chet seemed to downplay any concerns over him and I-Hart's ability to play alongside one another on the Thunder.

Holmgren addresses concerns on new Thunder tandem with Hartenstein

"I hate this thing where people come in and they'll be, like, 'That's not my game'. Mother F*cker, your game is what the game tells you your game is. You can't go out there and say, 'That's not my game' and now you're not doing what you need to do to try and win. My game is whatever the game tells me it needs to be. The game's going to tell me what I need to work on and I'm going to go work on that sh*t," Holmgren said.

While he predominantly played center during his rookie season, Holmgren has never seemed to shy away from the idea of potentially playing the power forward position, as he even went on record last season saying playing with another traditional big in the rotation "opens different things" up for him on both ends of the floor and that "t definitely helps me as well.”

Of course, these comments were directed toward the idea of slotting in alongside Jaylin Williams, but the sentiment still works when discussing his pairing next to the bigger and more polished Hartenstein.

"I think the addition of Hartenstein is great. I think it opens up more possibilities to play different styles... I think that move is in the direction of pushing for the ceiling of what we can be. Whether I'm out there at the four or the five, you know, I'm trying to win the basketball game," Holmgren said.

If the choice was between having Hartenstein or Holmgren man the primary power forward spot within the starting lineup for the Thunder this season, the obvious choice would be the latter, as he's a much more well-rounded player from a skill-set perspective, can be more mobile in defensive switches, and is a far greater threat to knock down shots from long-range (shot 37.0 percent from deep last year).

Expressing his excitement over the idea of having his perimeter game open up more with "another screener" in I-Hart, Holmgren seems ready to slot into whatever position coach Mark Daigneault needs him to in 2024-25.