OKC Thunder Rookies Show Flashes in NBA Debut

The Oklahoma City Thunder rookie logged his first official NBA minutes in Wednesday's win over the Chicago Bulls.

Basketball is back. The Oklahoma City Thunder began its regular season on the road, taking on the Chicago Bulls in their building. It was a solid win for the Thunder, as they routed the Bulls 124-104. 

For the Thunder, Chet Holmgren and Cason Wallace made their NBA debuts and showed just what their impacts could be this season. 

Wallace might have had the more impressive debut of the two. He finished the game with 13 points, two rebounds, one assist and one block in 19 minutes of action. He shot a perfect 5-of-5 from the floor and knocked down each of his three 3-pointer attempts. 

Given the Thunder's solid second unit, Wallace looked like a player who can make a consistently positive impact on the team. He's going to provide more depth and a similar role to Isaiah Joe where he can enter the game and quickly make winning plays. 

In the starting lineup, Holmgren was able to make his debut alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey, Jalen Williams and Lu Dort. It might not have been a picture-perfect debut for Holmgren, but it was a beneficial one. 

Holmgren finished with 11 points, four rebounds, three assists and one steal in his 25 minutes of action. He shot 4-of-7 from the field and showed his ability to stretch the floor by shooting 2-of-3 on 3-pointers.

"Every day I wake up and I'm able to play basketball for a living is a great day in my book. Definitely grateful, but I also understand that there's a lot of work to be done," Holmgren said after the game.

For Holmgren, he leaves plenty to be improved on, which is a good thing for a player with his work ethic and want to win basketball games. It's known every time he talks that he wants to play his best and be the best player on the court.

It's hard to hold too much weight in a rookie's debut, and their actual performance and counting stats mean very little in the big picture, but it's good to see the rookies show their potential for the Thunder.

---

Want to join the discussion? Like Inside the Thunder on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Thunder news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.