Chet's shooting goals and other key standout moments from Thunder Media Day

After a near five-month hiatus, the OKC Thunder are officially heading back to the lab as they gear up for what is hoped to be a promising 2024-25 season.

Monday, Oklahoma City took part in their annual Media Day festivities, a time universally seen as the kick-off to training camps and where fans and pundits are given a first look at the current state of teams heading into the upcoming campaign.

From photo booths to sit-down interviews, virtually every key member of the organization was in attendance and took part in the day-long activities.

Along the way, many notable quotes, comments, and factoids surfaced. Here are a few, in particular, that are worthy of your attention.

Standout moments from OKC Thunder Media Day

Jalen Williams reverts back to his rookie season hairdo... for now

Jalen Williams' statistical jumps and role advancement weren't the only things that were significantly changed from year one in 2022-23 to year two in 2023-24.

From a technical standpoint, the most noticeable difference during this period for the forward was his hairstyle, as he went from rocking the iconically wild afro during his debut campaign to the more conservative, cornrows look.

And while some fans may have feared that the large and in charge hairdo might have been lost forever, the budding star pulled up to Monday's Media Day with a delightful surprise, as he was seen once again donning the luscious locks.

While this flair and flavor is certainly an exciting sight to see, Williams admitted during a sit-down interview during the day that the look is only temporary, as he stated it "absolutely won't be staying" because it impacts his vision.

Nevertheless, it was fun to see the return of the iconic 'do as he preps for his junior year.

Chet Holmgren's desire to work on his shot

Last season, Chet Holmgren proved himself to be a sensational frontcourt talent due, in large, to his ability to defend the rim on defense and space the floor on offense. Interestingly enough, this latter part, though regularly praised by fans and pundits, proved to be a major point of emphasis during the big man's offseason training.

At least, that's what he stated during the festivities, as he told members of the media that if he truly wishes to "expand" upon his scoring abilities "I have to improve my shot and make some tweaks."

Though he acknowledged that shooting 37.0 percent from deep on 4.3 attempts per game is certainly an enviable stat line for some (especially those measuring in at above 7-feet tall like him), in his eyes, being content with one's game can limit their ceiling, meaning that "wherever you're at is where you'll be stuck."

With these remarks, Thunder fans should be absolutely ecstatic about Holmgren's clear drive to become the best version of himself

Alex Caruso highlights the 'weapon' he looks to bring to Thunder

This summer, the OKC Thunder made a big swing move on the trade market by dealing for veteran Alex Caruso from the Chicago Bulls.

Throughout his soon-to-be eight-year career, the combo guard has established himself as one of the game's truly elite 3-and-D role players, as he's collected two All-Defensive Team honors and sports a long-range conversion rate of 38.0 percent for his career.

However, though many are highlighting his two-way intangibles as being attributes that should help aid in Oklahoma City's championship pursuits, during his first Media Day with the organization Caruso highlighted what he believes to be arguably his greatest "weapon" on the hardwood -- communication.

"For me, the big thing I can add or maybe contribute is being vocal. It's really easy for me, it comes natural to talk and to be loud. I've got to see some of that with some of the best communicators the game's ever seen in LeBron James and Rajon Rondo... It's a skill and it's a weapon to use, especially when you get against really good teams and high-pressure environments," Caruso said.

As he mentioned, Caruso learned these traits while serving as a teammates alongside the likes of LeBron James and Rajon Rondo from 2018 through 2020, a time period that ended with their team, the Los Angeles Lakers, ultimately taking home an NBA Championship.

Hopefully he can provide the same type of impact and have the Thunder come across the same type of results come year's end.

Isaiah Hartenstein is willing to come off the bench

This summer, the Thunder opted to address their lackluster size within the frontcourt by signing 26-year-old big, Isaiah Hartenstein on day two of the festivities.

Following his career-best campaign with the Knicks in 2023-24 that saw him drop 8.7 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks in 49 starts, his specific rough-and-tough skill set coupled with his 7-foot, 249-pound frame is viewed by the masses as an ideal addition to this title-hopeful rotation.

However, considering Oklahoma City already has a franchise center in their possession with the likes of Chet Holmgren, there have been some concerns over how this new towering tandem will wind up meshing alongside one another during the coming season.

Will they slot Hartenstein in at the primary five spot and slide Chet up to the four? Could they opt to keep their center position the way it was last season and use I-Hart off the bench?

Whatever decision coach Mark Daigneault opts to go with, it seems the soon-to-be seventh-year pro will be accepting of anything, as he said during his Media Day panel "I'm just here to help the team win."

"I trust Mark's decision, whatever he does. He's a really versatile coach... Being here, doing whatever the team needs to win. If that's coming off the bench, if that's starting, I'm just here to help the team win," Hartenstein said.

Considering the fact that he signed a lofty $87 million pact with the ball club, it's hard to envision the Thunder would opt to use their second highest-paid player off the pine, but it's great to see Hartenstein showing his openness to being used in whatever way that helps the team.