Chet Holmgren Is Here

After Chet Holmgren missed all of his first NBA season due to injury, we were finally treated to the Holmgren show this week at the Salt Lake City Summer League.

As the No. 2 overall pick in 2022, the Oklahoma City Thunder expect Holmgren to grow into a franchise player and bring the Thunder back to contention alongside star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The initial returns from Salt Lake City haven’t been eye-popping on paper, but Holmgren has shown several flashes of his potential to this point in the summer developmental league.

Across two games, Holmgren has totaled 25 points, 20 rebounds and seven blocks while shooting 9 for 22. Like I said, nothing eye-popping — outside of his block total, but we’ll get to that later. But he’s put plenty of great things on tape that I’m sure is making Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault very excited.

Offensively, Holmgren boasts the necessary range to stretch the floor, while being athletic enough to attack closeouts. While Holmgren is 0-of-5 from three to this point in Summer League, he’s already shown that natural penchant to drive and finish around the rim.

Here’s another look at his ability to attack closeouts, also coming against his Summer League debut against the Jazz.

Holmgren can also use his dribbling ability to create opportunities for himself in the post. A solid ballhandler despite his size, Holmgren is able to get to his spots as a result of his refined ability with the ball in his hands. Here, he attacks as the ballhandler in a pick-and-pop set, gets into the paint and uses some nifty footwork to get an open look at the rim.

His play on the block and out of the post has left a little to be desired, though I don’t imagine that will be a big part of his game moving forward.

Let’s move over to the defensive end. I’ll admit, I was concerned about his play on this end despite him being a really good rim-protector while at Gonzaga. I had some reservations surrounding his frame, and I still think he needs to bulk up, but his athleticism allows him to be really solid in rotation and contest plenty of shots at the rim.

Against the Jazz, Holmgren totaled four blocks, including an emphatic two-handed rejection that sparked an easy fastbreak layup.

Holmgren is very fundamental as a defender, and is very cognizant of his body when contesting shots, as evidenced by the previous two clips.

Though, I do worry about Holmgren’s switchabilty. We’ve talked at length about his athleticism, but I still don’t see him being a reliable defender on the perimeter, whether he’s defending guards or forwards. Holmgren’s place is in the paint on defense, where I think he can grow into one of the league’s best rim protectors.

Overall, I really like what I’ve seen out of Holmgren’s game to this point in Summer League and I’m really looking forward to seeing how he meshes with the Thunder’s roster this regular season.

Photo Credit: Oklahoma City Thunder