Chet Holmgren Graces Cover of Slam Magazine
Rookie big man Chet Holmgren has lifted the Oklahoma City Thunder (36-17) throughout the 2023-24 season. The second overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft missed the entire 2021-22 campaign with a Lisfranc Fracture before returning to the hardwood to make a high impact immediately.
This season for the Thunder, Holmgren is averaging 16.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 2.6 blocks per contest. The Gonzaga product shoots 53 percent from the floor, 39 percent from 3-point land, and 76 percent at the charity stripe.
Manning the middle for the Thunder, the seven-footer has provided an instant spark on both ends, specifically in protecting the rim, which Oklahoma City lacked a year ago.
The Thunder have burst onto the scene as one of the top teams in the Western Conference, and SLAM Magazine put the entire starting five on their season preview cover earlier this season.
On Monday, SLAM Magazine released their 30th anniversary edition cover, and the Thunder big man was the headliner.
In the feature story with "Big Dawg" Holmgren, the Thunder rookie reflects on watching the first era of playoff basketball in Oklahoma City.
“I remember watching their playoff series back in, like, ’11, ’12, ’13 and everybody’s wearing the same color shirt, screaming [in the stands],...We’re gonna get back to that point.” Holmgren said.
That point, is this season. the Thunder have a five-game cushion on home court advantage with one game to go before the All-Star Break.
In this story, the big man's work ethic was on display, even when injured. He told a story that every Media Member can attest to of him shooting relentlessly on a scooter while injured.
“I was out there on the court, standing on one leg with the other leg up on a scooter, just shooting as many shots as I could shoot before they made me go sit down—they’d be telling me, like, Go home!,” he recalls. “But when you’re just standing on a scooter, you’re not getting tired, so I was like, I can do this all day.”
Holmgren will continue to battle or Rookie of the Year against Victor Wembanyama, but more importantly, he will make a huge impact on the Thunder's first postseason run of this new era.
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