OKLAHOMA CITY — Thunder general manager Sam Presti and coach Mark Daigneault are trying to control the hype about Chet Holmgren’s return, saying it’s not fair to expect too much from a player who has been out for more than a year with a foot injury.
Holmgren’s Oklahoma City teammates, on the other hand, can’t contain their enthusiasm about the 7-foot-1 forward/center.
“He’s going to bring a new dynamic to our team, not just offensively but defensively,” guard Josh Giddey said. “He’s going to be a massive addition to our team, and (I’m) excited to play with him.”
All-NBA guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is among those who can’t wait to see how Holmgren meshes with the talented young core that carried the Thunder to a 40-42 record and a berth in the play-in tournament last season.
“Chet brings so many things to the game,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Block shots, he rebounds — he’s versatile. Especially in today’s NBA, that helps out a lot — not only myself, but the rest of the team.”
Holmgren averaged 14.1 points and 9.9 rebounds in one season at Gonzaga and was fourth in the nation with 3.7 blocked shots per game. He was the No. 2 pick in the 2022 NBA draft and had a strong summer league performance before getting hurt during a pro-am game.
He feels he handled the year of grueling rehab well.
“I feel like I did a really good job of taking a bad situation and a bad moment and really making the most out of it,” Holmgren said. “My whole attention and intention throughout the last season - the last year - was to really turn what could be a curse into a blessing, and I feel like I did a really good job of that.”
He doesn’t know exactly what to expect when the Thunder open preseason play at home on Monday against the San Antonio Spurs and No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama.
“My expectations for myself are to come in on day one ready to put the work in with extreme focus and determination, to figure out what it takes to help raise this team’s floor and strive for the ceiling,” he said. “You know, no championship’s won on Game 1 or training camp. So we just have to take each game one at a time, figure out where we’re at and try to put the pieces together to get to where we need to go.”
Although he’s yet to make his regular-season debut, Holmgren’s teammates already see him as an elite defender.
“Chet is going to be special for us,” forward Kenrich Williams said. “I’m not even talking about just the offensive side of the game. Just defensively, the impact that he’s going to bring for us, like I said, man, I’ve been here four years, and I don’t think we’ve had a legit shot blocker, rim protector like Chet.”
Lu Dort, one of the league’s best perimeter defenders, likes the fact that he’ll have someone to back him up.
“It means a lot,” Dort said. “Especially for me being so aggressive for the ball, it happens sometimes that I get beat. It’ll be great to trust a good rim protector behind me that’s going to go and make plays. I know Chet, he’s not shying away around the rim.”
On offense, Holmgren is a capable outside shooter who is dangerous on pick-and-rolls.
“It sounds cliche, but he does do it all,” Giddey said. “He can handle the ball. When he gets a rebound, he’s a guy that can take it up the floor himself and handle it.”
Holmgren was listed at 195 pounds heading into last year’s summer league. He said he’s been working on increasing his strength, and he’s now listed at 208 pounds.
“I was able to do that really well through specific dieting and meal prep, meal plans and stuff, as well as being in the weight room and having a specific routine to help me with my weaknesses as well as strengthen my strengths,” he said. “I feel like I did a good job of saying consistent with that and not waning, even on days I wasn’t excited to go and move some (pounds) around.”
Presti said the Thunder will monitor Holmgren closely to see how much he should play early on.
“Obviously we’ll be careful, but one thing about him is like, he’s going to go hard when he’s playing,” Presti said. “He’s competitive — his mindset is as unique as his game.”
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