Chet Holmgren game
Chet Holmgren is a basketball player. Holmgren played well in the game and his team won. In the second quarter, Chet Holmgren drove to the hoop and scored via contact. Holmgren collapsed to the court and spread his long arms wide as the ball passed through the net.
The Thunder rookie appeared worn out. He had scratches and bruises. But he had returned. In his first competitive game after a year of rest following surgery for a Lisfranc ailment to his right foot, Holmgren battled early rust in the opening frame before finding his flow.
The Salt Lake Summer League began Monday night with the Thunder defeating the Jazz 95-85, but Holmgren’s much anticipated return was the main focus.
Player returns in 95-85 summer league win over Jazz
Chet Holmgren blocked Keyonte George’s drive to the basket with two hands while he was running towards the weak side to aid out. The Utah Jazz eventually got used to being on the incorrect side of Holmgren’s wide wingspan. The Oklahoma City Thunder’s 95-85 victory in their opening summer league games was highlighted by the highly anticipated return of the No. 2 overall pick in 2022.
The Thunder headed into Monday’s game with a clear talent advantage across the board. OKC’s starting lineup consisted of last year’s Rookie of the Year runner-up, the No. 2/No. 12 picks and a third-year guard.
Meanwhile, the Jazz were without their top rookie Taylor Hendricks and the only notable players who suited up were Ochai Agbaji and George.
The talent gap became evident by halftime, as the Thunder built up a 59-43 lead thanks to a 43-point second quarter which is even that much more impressive when you remember summer league quarters are shortened to 10 minutes.
The Jazz and The Thunder
Opposite team the Jazz made it interesting in the fourth quarter with a 23-13 advantage, but the 20-point lead OKC entered the final frame with was enough cushion for them to overcome any late-game push.
The Thunder enjoyed a hot night from 3, as they went 13-of-31 (41.9%) beyond the perimeter. A much better night than Utah’s 9-of-34 (26.5%) outing from 3.
The Jazz were led by their two notable young players. Agbaji finished with 17 points on 7-of-19 shooting and nine rebounds. George had 18 points on 7-of-16 shooting. Luka Semanic also had 13 points and six rebounds.
Although, the Thunder’s victory was an amazing one overall, summer league games don’t matter much. The more thrilling aspects of Monday’s entertaining night were OKC’s young core’s dominant performance and getting to see Holmgren play after he missed the whole 2022–23 season while recovering from his Lisfranc injury.
Hot Takes on Chet Holmgren
Ten teams competed in Utah and Sacramento as part of the NBA Summer League. Chet Holmgren made a triumphant return that evening, while a few recent draught choices had their stage debuts. Additionally, a few undrafted guys showed why teams erred by passing on them a few weeks ago.
NBA fans missed out on a budding star last season. Chet Holmgren, who was taken with the No. 2 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft by the Oklahoma City Thunder. Impressed fans in the Summer League last season but suffered a Lisfranc injury in August and missed the entire 2022-23 season.
The team was optimistic about him returning for the 2023 Summer League, and that hope came to fruition Monday night when the Thunder defeated the Utah Jazz 95-85.
Holmgren put up 15 points, nine rebounds and four blocks in 29 minutes. Fans on Twitter praised this performance and were just happy to see the former Gonzaga star back in action.
Chet shared some words
“It’s great just to be able to be in an actual game again for the last 11 months, or whatever it’s been,” Holmgren said. “It’s really been competing with myself just to stay in it. I feel like I followed everything to a T, so this was kind of like the reward for that.” The 7-foot-1 centre started and played 29 minutes. He scored 15 points on 6-of-14 shooting, with all but one of his attempts coming from inside the arc. Holmgren was 3-of-6 from the foul line. He had nine rebounds and two assists.
Most of Holmgren’s highlights came on the defensive end. He swallowed a shot midway through the fourth quarter for his fourth block of the game. Side note: Holmgren had six blocks in his Salt Lake City Summer League debut last year.
“It makes paint protection very easy,” Thunder guard Jalen Williams said of having Holmgren around. “It gives everyone a lot more confidence to get up and guard their man higher.” The Thunder outscored the Jazz by 13 points with Holmgren on the floor.
“Last thing I wanted to do was come out here and be timid,” Holmgren said. “I wanted to come out of the gates and be aggressive and look to impact the game. “Obviously, with that, you can make mistakes or miss shots. That’s part of the game whether you’ve just played 100 straight games without missing one or missed a whole season … Gotta get on the tape and watch that and see where my mistakes were, so next time I don’t come out here and have to take the first quarter to find my rhythm.
