Gonzaga alum Chet Holmgren ruled out of OKC's Friday Summer League matchup

The Thunder take on the Golden State Warriors for a chance at a top seed heading into the final two days of Vegas action, but Holmgren will not be participating

Holmgren has averaged 14 points and 7.8 rebounds through five complete games of Summer League action split between Las Vegas and Salt Lake City (courtesy of CNN). 

Chet Holmgren will not play in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Summer League game Friday. The Thunder announced at 3 p.m. PST that he would be shut down for the team’s game against the Golden State Warriors.

The reason seems to be a coach's decision and does not appear to be medically related. 

As Summer League action continues, more prospects and incoming-second year players get shut down by teams to prevent injuries. The No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft joins the top pick in Paolo Banchero as being removed from games despite there being three days of action left. The Orlando Magic pulled Banchero from the lineup prior to their game against the Thunder on Wednesday.

Holmgren averaged 14 points, 7.8 boards and 2.6 assists in his five games of Summer League action split between Las Vegas and Salt Lake City. On the defensive end, he came up with an average of 2.2 blocks and 1.6 steals through five games.

The Thunder had previously benched Josh Giddey going into Wednesday night’s win against the Sacramento Kings, and Ousmane Dieng is another first round pick from this year’s draft who is sitting out Friday’s contest for OKC. Meanwhile, Jalen Williams and Jaylin Williams are listed on the team’s starting five heading into their matchup with Golden State.

The Thunder have one more game in Las Vegas this weekend to wrap up Summer League action. They’ll be seeded against a commensurate opponent based on the team’s record and point differential through the four games all teams have played so far in Las Vegas.

The Championship game will be between the two highest ranked teams based on those same qualities, which despite being in contention for the best record with a win Friday, The Thunder are mathematically eliminated from due to point differential. Right now, the New York Knicks are the top seed with a 3-1 record with a +11.8 point differential and the Pelicans are the two seed with the same record and a +8.3 point differential.

The Indiana Pacers, who have fellow Gonzaga alumni Andrew Nembhard starting for them, are still able to steal the No. 2 with a confident enough win Friday night. They take on the Washington Wizards at 6 p.m. PST.