Chet Holmgren, another amazing rookie: 90 kilos, a serious injury and more impact than Wembanyama
All the expectation aroused by the arrival of Victor Wembanyama to the NBA, a hype like no other, contrasts strikingly with the process followed by his nemesis: a player almost as tall (2.16 meters), almost as young (21 years), with the same versatility and surprising movements and even (although it seems impossible) thinner. There is no one physically like Chet Holmgren, who barely weighs 90 kilos, the perfect Wemby antagonist and a promise of rivalry that has already begun. And, for now, the Thunder center has taken advantage in a race that can be sensed in the background.
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They met for the first time officially a few days ago: the Frenchman could only score once defended by Holmgren and the Thunder beat the Spurs by 36 points. The statistics and feelings have turned the predictions for the rookie of the year upside down.. Because if Wemby seems to have hit a small wall of reality, Chet begins to sign performances that project his impact.
Holmgren, defending Sharpe, of the Blazers. AP
In his first 14 games, Holmgren averaged 17 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.1 blocks, with astonishing accuracy levels: 61.95 on two-pointers, 90.7% on free throws and a sensational 46% on three-pointers. which measures the threat of another giant (2.16 meters with a 2.31 wingspan) capable of doing everything on the court. His fit into the Thunder, the revelation team, has been immediate, forming together with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey and Jalen Williams, one of the youngest and most thriving quartets in the entire league. Before facing Wembanyama, he had exploded with 36 points (impossible triple at the buzzer to force overtime included) against the Warriors, the highest score for a rookie in Thunder history.
“To be honest, he needs to be a little fatter,” Jokic had joked about him after making the post suffer in their confrontation.. But his performance definitively erases those suspicions of physical weakness that always haunted the boy from Minneapolis and that seemed to be confirmed when, after being chosen second in the 2022 draft – only behind Paolo Banchero – Chet suffered a spectacular injury to his foot. right (Lisfranc injury) trying to defend LeBron James in a summer party with several NBA stars. Holmgren missed last season entirely.
The penultimate NBA unicorn had shot to viral fame with a video in which, at the age of 17, he exposed Steph Curry on his own campus. First, with an unusual play in which he passed the ball behind his back and ended up smashing the rim and then with a block on the board against the Warriors star. Shortly after, in 2021, he was MVP of the 2019 World Cup, an event in which he was paired with Wembanyama for the first time: in the final the Frenchman shone individually (22 points), but the USA took the victory and the gold.
The following year, Holmgren, whose father (Dave) is 2.13 meters tall and played at the university level, played with Gonzaga and continued to show the progression that is now confirmed (14.1 points, 9.9 rebounds and 3.7 blocks ). There he went to reunite with his friend Jalen Suggs (current Magic player), with whom he had trained at the Minnehaha Academy, a prestigious private center in Minnesota, although they could not reach the NCAA Final Four: they lost with Arkansas in the sweet 16.