Chet Holmgren falls behind surprise player in 2024-25 sophomore rankings

Following his injury-induced redshirt 2022-23 season, OKC Thunder big Chet Holmgren burst onto the scene this past season for what proved to be a truly electric ride.

Producing as advertised when selected second overall back in the 2022 NBA Draft, the 22-year-old showcased his elite two-way upside on a regular basis.

He posted sensational averages of 16.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks while shooting 53.0 percent from the floor and 37.0 percent from deep through 82 games and helped guide Oklahoma City to 57 wins and a playoff berth as the top seed out West.

On top of this, through just 57 games played in year one, the youngster became the first player in NBA history to accumulate 150 or more blocked shots, 150 or more assists, and 100 or more shots made from long range in a season.

As a result of his high-end productivity and the team's top-notch successes, Holmgren was a heavily buzzed-about Rookie of the Year candidate for the entire year. In the end, however, he finished second in the running behind the stellar all-world talent, Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs -- an outcome he seems to have little issues with.

Now, with his debut season officially in the rearview, the sky truly seems to be the limit for the 7-foot-1 wunderkind, and he and Wemby are set to go toe-to-toe for the moniker of best young big for the forseeable future.

Yet, despite all this, the folks at ESPN don't seem to be as high as Loud City faithful are on the likes of Holmgren... at least, not to the point where they'd place him within the top two in their latest sophomore rankings projection.

Thunder's Chet Holmgren ranks as third most interesting sophomore

Though noting the future for the Thunder big is "a scary thought" if one assumes his rookie run is "the absolute baseline" in terms of what he provides to a team on the hardwood, ultimately, ESPN's Jeremy Woo is hung up on if and how Holmgren can add more mass and strength to his build, thus leaving him ranked third on his list of most interesting second-year ballers.

" If he can bulk up a bit without sacrificing any of the coordination and movement skills that have made him a special player, it should make him even more effective handling contact in the run of play. He has never needed to be heavy -- but there's room for his body to develop in a way that aids him both as a scorer and defender on the interior," Woo wrote.

Ahead of him on the rankings is, unsurprisingly, Victor Wembanyama at number one and then, far more staggering, Amen Thompson of the Houston Rockets, who, despite falling to the All-Rookie Second-Team and posting sub-par averages of 9.5 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 2.6 assists while shooting a putrid 13.8 percent from distance, Woo notes that his "upside is the highest on the Rockets' roster" and that he could "veer into must-watch territory" should he improve upon his game.

Holmgren is an already established must-see talent who holds upside only shadowed by Wembanyama, but, sure, it makes sense Thompson is ahead of him on an interesting sophomore rankings list...

Not!