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Shaquille O'Neal Shortchanges Chet Holmgren; Says Thunder's "Role Player" Not A Part Of OKC's Big 3

Shaquille O'Neal Shortchanges Chet Holmgren; Says Thunder's "Role Player" Not A Part Of OKC's Big 3

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Shaquille O'Neal Shortchanges Chet Holmgren; Says Thunder's "Role Player" Not A Part Of OKC's Big 3 originally appeared on Fadeaway World.
The NBA Finals are around the corner as the OKC Thunder prepare to take on the Indiana Pacers in their first Finals appearance in over a decade. From James Harden, Kevin Durant, and Russell Westbrook in 2012 to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren in 2025, the Thunder have made it to the Finals yet again on the backs of three highly talented players.
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Chet Holmgren has become the X-factor for the Thunder, who, even Anthony Edwards admitted, was the game changer in pivotal moments of their Western Conference Finals series with the Timberwolves. However, Shaquille O'Neal believes Holmgren has not done enough to warrant his name in the 'Big 3' status for OKC. He feels Holmgren is at best a role player, and the public is rushing to award him a spot of that status.
'We're all responsible for this, we give away too many titles sometimes. They got a big two, that mo***rf***ker Jay Dub is serious, he can play. The other guy's just a role player, stop it… But he's a great role player. He's a Horace Grant or Tony Kukoc, not taking away, but he's not a big three, stop it, stop it', said O'Neal in an appearance on the Pivot Podcast.
The Lakers legend seems unimpressed with the former No. 2 overall pick, Holmgren. He has averaged 16.4 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in 16 games in the 2025 playoffs so far. In the last series against the Timberwolves, he averaged 18.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game. While these numbers don't scream All-Star caliber to anyone, his role on the team is pivotal enough to say the Thunder would not be where they are without Holmgren.
In the 2022-23 season, Holmgren suffered from a Lisfranc injury at the beginning of his rookie year. This forced him to miss the entire season, where the OKC roster was built on the same core of Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams, Dort, and more. The Thunder finished the season in the 10th seed with only 40 wins in the regular season and an exit in the Play-in tournament itself.
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This shows how pivotal Holmgren has been in providing size inside the paint, being a big to stretch the floor, and a shot blocker to fill the holes in the Thunder roster. His inclusion propelled them from a playoff contender to a championship contender in less than two years.
Chet Holmgren Got The Last Laugh Over Anthony Edwards
After the Thunder won the Western Conference Finals against the Timberwolves, Holmgren went on social media to post his pictures from the series. The Minnesota native captioned it "welcome home Chet" to signify a subtle shot at Anthony Edwards, who used those words in February to react to a posterizing dunk over Holmgren.
Holmgren used that incident as fuel for himself as he helped the Thunder reach the Finals for the first time in 12 years. Following Game 4 of the series as well, Edwards admitted that the Timberwolves had an answer for everyone except Holmgren. Maybe he's not a superstar yet, but in my opinion, he's important enough to the Thunder team that he elevates from a role player status to the big three status.
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Related: Chet Holmgren Believes He, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, And Josh Giddey Can Become The New Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, And James Harden
This story was originally reported by Fadeaway World on Jun 4, 2025, where it first appeared.

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Knicks denied permission to interview Kidd, Udoka and Finch in coaching search, AP sources say
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Knicks denied permission to interview Kidd, Udoka and Finch in coaching search, AP sources say
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The NBA Finals shifts to Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis for Game 3 on Wednesday night, with OKC laying 5 points at most sportsbooks. The NBA Finals shifts to Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis for Game 3 on Wednesday night, with OKC laying 5 points at most sportsbooks. Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The NBA Finals continue with a pivotal Game 3 on Wednesday night in Indianapolis. Can the Pacers win one or both of the next two games at home and make it clear that we're in for a long series? Or will the Thunder -- who led by double digits for most of Games 1 and 2, but let the series opener slip away at home last Thursday -- give hoops fans another reminder of why they entered this series as one of the heaviest betting favorites in NBA Finals history? NBA Finals Game 3 Betting Odds After being favored by double-digits in both Games 1 and 2, the Thunder are just 5 or 5.5-point favorites (depending on the sportsbook) in tonight's game. DK FD bet365 OKC spread -5.5 (-108) -5 (-114) -5.5 (-105) IND spread +5.5 (-112) +5 (-106) +5.5 (-115) IND ML -218 -220 -220 OKC ML +180 +184 +180 Total 227.5 (o-110; u-110) 227.5 (o-108; u-112) 227 (o-110; u-110) How to Watch NBA Finals Game 3: Thunder vs. Pacers Tipoff: 8:30 p.m. ET Channel: ABC NBA Finals Series Winner Odds: OKC Heavily Favored Oklahoma City remains heavily favored in this series despite dropping Game 1. DraftKings : OKC -525; IND +400 FanDuel : OKC -650; IND +480 bet365 : OKC -550; IND +400 NBA Finals Game 3 Betting Picks, Analysis Why The Thunder Could Win Game 3 (And/Or Cover) In Game 2, OKC cleaned up just about everything that plagued it in Game 1, including poor defensive rebounding, cold shooting nights by second- and third-leading scorers Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, plus an unusually unproductive night by its bench players. With the Thunder winning the offensive rebounding battle 11-7 in Game 2 and enjoying a 48-34 advantage in bench points, Indiana trailed 59-41 at halftime and 93-74 going into the fourth quarter. While Game 1 of these Finals proved that OKC's B game won't cut it against the Pacers, Game 2 showed that the Thunder are just about untouchable when they're on their A game. While the Thunder were excellent offensively in Game 2 (as evidenced by their offensive rating of 126), their defense might have been even more impressive. Despite a 33-point fourth quarter on 13-for-20 FG shooting in (mostly) garbage time, the Pacers were still held to 45 percent shooting from the floor in Game 2. They also finished with at least 15 turnovers for the second time in as many games. Unless the Pacers can get out in transition -- which has been nearly impossible for Thunder opponents to do -- it's hard to see them scoring enough tonight to get a win. Why The Pacers Could Win Game 3 (And/Or Cover) The Pacers have already defied their doubters with a number of upsets this postseason. With that in mind, many bettors are understandably reluctant to bet against them at home tonight. So yes, Haliburton and Co. could be a frisky underdog in front of their raucous home crowd tonight, especially if role players like Aaron Nesmith step up the way they did in Game 1. Six Pacers scored at least 10 points, led by Pascal Siakam's game-high 19 points, in that contest. It's also at least theoretically possible that at least once in this series, the Pacers will be able to jump the Thunder early -- like the Timberwolves did in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals -- and win going away. The most likely outcome, however, feels like another comfortable win by the Thunder, who have shown all season that they are too deep to lose if they're anywhere near their best. Thunder vs. Pacers Game 3 Best Bets No one should be shocked if Indiana wins another game in this series, but the Thunder strike me as too much for the Pacers. It's worth noting that OKC has not gotten a quality shooting night from All-Star Jalen Williams in this series. So far, Williams has shot just 11-for-33 from the floor in the Finals. Even with Williams struggling, OKC enjoyed a solid offensive night in Game 1, and it was lights-out in Game 2. It helps that the Thunder have a slew of secondary options in addition to regular-season MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is averaging 37.5 points and 6.75 assists per game on 52 percent shooting from the field in four OKC-IND matchups this year. Until Indiana finds a way to slow down Gilgeous-Alexander, all the Thunder need in order to win -- if not cruise -- is for one or two of their complementary pieces to step up. Whether that's Williams, Holmgren, or bench players like Alex Caruso (20 points in Game 2) and Aaron Wiggins (18 points in Game 2), the Thunder have too many options for me to bet against them, even in a tough environment like Gainbridge Fieldhouse against a scrappy foe like the Pacers. The best bets tonight are OKC -- which led 57-45 at halftime of Game 1 and 59-41 at halftime of Game 2 -- to cover not only the spread and the first-half spread, as I don't see this one staying close for 48 minutes. Thunder 1H -3 (-108 at DraftKings) -- 1 unit Thunder -5.5 (-105 at bet365) -- 1 unit Newsweek may earn an affiliate commission if you sign up through the links in this article. See the sportsbook operator's terms and conditions for important details. Sports betting operators have no influence over newsroom coverage.

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