CHICAGO — Gratitude was once the phrase Chet Holmgren used to explain his NBA debut Wednesday night time in opposition to the Chicago Bulls. The No. 2 select in the 2022 NBA Draft had a refined statline: 11 issues, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and one scouse borrow, but it was once a debut that have been a very long time coming. The Oklahoma City Thunder’s 7-foot-1 heart overlooked everything of remaining season because of a Lisfranc harm to his proper foot that he sustained throughout a Pro-Am sport. But after a yr of rehab and not on time pleasure, the time had come for him to make his lengthy awaited debut.Â
The large guy could have had a modest debut, but he did display flashes of why the unicorn moniker has been hooked up to him since his school days. And his first NBA bucket completely encapsulated that. It got here just about midway although the primary quarter, when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander discovered Holmgren spaced out in the nook with room to perform in opposition to Chicago’s Nikola Vucevic. Holmgren pump faked, did a bit of shake and bake to catch Vucevic on his heels earlier than draining a turnaround jumper from 18 ft out.
Sure, guys 5 or 6 inches shorter than Holmgren organize to drag that transfer and shot off on a nightly foundation, but while you see any person with a gangly seven-foot body execute that it makes you lift your eyebrows in disbelief. He adopted that bucket up simply moments later with a silky layup that noticed him force to the rim from past the 3-point line. He completed via touch, striking each his toughness and his finesse on show.
When requested if gratitude is how he feels about attending to this second, to in the end make his debut, Holmgren agreed.
“100%, every day I’m able to wake up and play basketball for a living is a great day in my book,” Holmgren mentioned. “I’m definitely greatful, but also understanding there’s a lot of work to be done.”
Holmgren took the way of there is nonetheless paintings to be completed, as did his head trainer Mark Daigneault, who opted for a chook’s eye view of Holmgren’s scenario and function Wednesday night time.
“There’s a lot of good and a lot he can improve on,” Daigneault mentioned. “He’s a competitor. He’s also a learner. A junkie. So I have no doubt he’s gonna dive into every single game afterwards and learn from it. We just have to start that process with him. Obviously we’re in the infant stages of his career.”
Holmgren would possibly nonetheless be in the crawling levels of his NBA occupation, but his debut confirmed flashes of what he can convey to the Thunder. He displayed the facility to attain in any respect 3 ranges, one thing we already knew he possessed, but seeing it in sport motion solidifies it. He tired two triples very easily, which, if he is in a position to stay hitting the ones at a prime clip will give OKC unbelievable spacing with which to perform. Though he did not document any blocks, Holmgren did not shy clear of touch on the rim, even on the expense of getting dunked on. It’s that fearlessness that Daigneault mentioned has inspired him maximum about Holmgren’s development since Summer League, coaching camp and preseason.
“His competitiveness, great competitor, great fearlessness, willingness to put his body in plays despite his frame,” Daigneault mentioned. “And despite what just happened on the last play, you know, he’ll he’ll get dunked on 10 straight times, if that’s what the game calls for. Now, he won’t actually get dunked on 10 times in a row, he’s gonna go get a couple [blocks]. But that’s the mindset he takes, and the vulnerability of that is something I really admire. He’s really thrust himself into competition, with risk of failure. And for a young player, that’s got a lot of hype, to have that quality is pretty special.”
Another phrase that should be used to explain Holmgren is patience. From an on-court viewpoint, he by no means appeared to be forcing the rest, and as an alternative took what defenders have been giving him. He handiest took seven pictures, but he impacted the sport undoubtedly in different ways, which resulted in him completing the sport with a boxscore plus-minus of +14. Patience should additionally be carried out to expectancies for Holmgren proper out of the gate. Despite the numerous quantity of hype surrounding him, it is going to take time earlier than he unearths his position on a Thunder group that already skilled a bit of bit of luck with out him remaining season.
“I think it’s important, when you’re where we are to zoom out a little bit, like this is his first game of many,” Daigneault mentioned. “He’s a young player, he’s going to have a long career, we’re going to have a long tenure with this particular core of players that he’s a part of. And this is just a starting point. Regardless of what happens, it’s important to zoom out and not overreact.”