OKC Thunder Rookies Impressing Early in the Season
Despite a talented up-and-coming roster, the Oklahoma City Thunder have still managed to find plenty of minutes for their 2023 rookies. And they’ve certainly made the most of that time.
Chet Holmgren and Cason Wallace — two Thunder rookies who followed drastically different paths to land with the team — have made an earth-shattering impact for OKC in their first handful of games.
Oddly enough, both have relied on a few of the same things to carry them to success: menacing defense and highly-efficient offense. Though both are going about it in vastly different ways.
Starting with defense, Holmgren, at 7-foot-1, has already established himself as one of the premier shot-blockers and rim-protectors in the league, averaging 2.5 blocks per game. His fluidity also allows him to be aggressive in drop coverage, making him a shoe-in to be one of the better defenders in the league for years to come.
Wallace, at 6-foot-4-ish, has used his impeccable footwork, lengthy wingspan and instincts to hound guards and smaller forwards on and off-ball, generating steals and even coming up with plenty of blocks.
Both have been vital to OKC’s defensive success thus far.
Offensively, both have been highly efficient. Holmgren is shooting 58% overall and a blistering 56% from beyond the arc, adding 16.8 points per game for the Thunder. Wallace has been similarly efficient with less of a sample size to work with, shooting 69% overall and 57% from downtown while scoring 8.8 points per game.
And it’s certainly not empty stats.
In Wednesday’s game against the Cavaliers, both Holmgren and Wallace played down the stretch, helping Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Lu Dort take down a good Cleveland squad.
If OKC's shiny new rookies can continue their current output, the team will contend sooner than later, undoubtedly.
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