From hip fracture to NBA Finals, Chet Holmgren reflects on long season journey
From hip fracture to NBA Finals, Chet Holmgren reflects on long season journey
Like angering The Hulk, Chet Holmgren's basketball superpowers have grown the deeper the Thunder have gone in the playoffs. A three-month layoff from a hip fracture was quite the traffic jam the 23-year-old was stuck in for his season, but he's finally back to the open road and flirting with 85 MPH.
The Oklahoma City Thunder's Big 3 headlined another playoff win. Holmgren finished with 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting, seven rebounds and three blocks. He shot 2-of-4 from 3 and went 4-of-6 on free throws. He also had three blocks.
The Thunder jogged to an NBA Finals berth with their 124-94 Game 5 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves to capture the Western Conference Finals. They steamrolled through the West with a 12-4 playoff record.
When the Thunder drafted Holmgren, this was likely what they envisioned as his peak. A swat-shot machine that altered how often the opposition attacked the paint. Whether Anthony Edwards or Julius Randle, Minnesota's best players second-guessed themselves to the point they couldn't generate good looks.
On the other end, Holmgren was busy underneath the rim. The seven-footer is the perfect play finisher and frequently cleans up his teammates' misses for easy second-chance buckets. When the jumper gets going like it did tonight, watch out. Things can get scary.
This was the best the Thunder's star trio has looked. Before, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the one constant while Jalen Williams and Holmgren juggled between success and struggles. But for most of this series, the trio was equally dominant and helped OKC not get too anxious about the result of the Western Conference Finals.
But talk about a long season for Holmgren. You can break it apart into several chapters centered around his hip injury. It's only been seven months since he fell against the Golden State Warriors and needed help off the floor. But it's felt like seven years. Safe to say he's back to form and playing a big role in OKC's NBA Finals berth was well worth the wait and struggles.
"Obviously, I thought about it. Before getting hurt, it felt like it wasn't even the same season," Holmgren said. "We're still in this thing. Kinda thinking more about what we'll be doing moving forward than where we've been."
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