In his debut campaign with the OKC Thunder, Chet Holmgren proved worthy of the hype surrounding him after being snatched up second overall in the 2022 NBA Draft.
Following his redshirted first season, the 22-year-old broke onto the scene in 2023-24 where he served as a top-three option on a top-seeded Oklahoma City squad and dropped illustrious averages of 16.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 2.3 blocks while shooting 53.0 percent from the floor and 37.0 percent from distance all without missing a single game.
Though the 7-footer's ability to put the ball on the floor and stretch beyond the arc on offense were certainly major attention grabbers when it came to Holmgren's All-Rookie campaign, arguably the biggest and most impactful part of his game resided on the less glamorous side of the court, as his enviable efforts paved the way toward Oklahoma City boasting the fourth-best defense in the association.
While claiming such a rank was the result of a full team effort, it's hard to not credit the big man for paving the way on this front, as he led all Thunder players in defensive rating (108) and defensive win shares (4.4) while finishing second on the team in defensive box plus-minus (1.5) out of those who logged 1,000 or more minutes on the year.
Now, heading into his sophomore session in the association, many are expecting the towering frontcourt talent to take a step forward in his overwhelmingly promising career and OKC Thunder Wire's Clemente Almanza projects one of said steps will be in the form of leading the league in blocks in 2024-25.
Thunder stud Chet Holmgren predicted to lead NBA in blocks
As a rookie, Holmgren found himself right in the mix when it came to accomplishing such a feat.
Accompanied by a blocks percentage of 7.3, the Thunder big went on to swat a mesmerizing 190 shots on the year, which ranked second behind Spurs phenom, Victor Wembanyama's 254.
Of course, as Almanza noted in his projection, the block champion is decided by a per-game average rather than totals, which, with this caveat, saw the youngster finish fifth among qualifying players, with a separation between him and the ultimate champ in Wemby being 1.3 a night.
What makes this prediction by the seasoned beat reporter all the more plausible is that Holmgren was able to be as effective as he was in the rim protection department right out of the gates.
Now, with a year of experience under his belt and, in turn, an established feel for the rhythm and timing of his opposing NBA players, there's a strong case to be made that his shot-blocking expertise is only bound to improve.
Because of this, at least to Almanza, it "feels inevitable" that the rising Thunder star will "eventually lead the league in blocks," and he's predicting it will happen "as soon as this year."