The Victor Wembanyama wave swept through the NBA season and it took everything among the rookies. But Chet Holmgren was a top competitor. After a blank year, he played all 82 matches, producing a very solid performance with 16.5 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.3 blocks on average, in a very competitive team.
In the playoffs, he confirmed with 15.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game, and was not far from being decisive with his basket at the end of the match, in Game 6 of the conference semi-final, against Dallas. Then Shai Gilgeous-Alexander made a fatal mistake…
His season, however wonderful it may be, is therefore over. “I’m going to remember it, that’s clear”he declared. “It's hard to say whether we remember the victories or the defeats anymore, but it stings, that's for sure. We don't feel good. We don't want to relive that feeling. Afterwards, no one wins twelve titles in a row, so we will relive that at one point or another, but I will do my best to avoid it. »
For that, there is only one path to take: that of work. “I don't expect anything other than to work hard and get better”, he warns. “I don't plan to come back next season worse or at the same level: I plan to be better in many areas. »
“He is hungry for progress. Basketball is his main priority”
Just like Victor Wembanyama, the promise is enormous in the young Thunder and, in a few years, this first season will perhaps look like a simple draft of the player he will have become…
“For me, we saw the lowest level of Chet Holmgren and it’s very exciting,” announces his coach. “That's why I'm so confident, because he's hungry for progress. Basketball is his main priority. He sleeps with his shoes on. It's going to be a big summer, like last year, physically and technically. »
Maybe there will be some All-Stars to accompany him. In the summer of 2023, it was in particular Kevin Durant who worked with the interior of the Thunder. Now that he is a little more established in the league, will he continue to rub shoulders with competition?
“I don’t have the arrogance to say I don’t need it. I work in the summer against a player who has over 15 All-Star Game appearances. I think I learn more from them than they learn from me”he confides. “So I'm not going to be arrogant and say I don't want my moves stolen. I'm just looking for the best competition to face. »
| Chet Holmgren | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2023-24 | OKAY | 82 | 29 | 53.0 | 37.0 | 79.3 | 1.6 | 6.3 | 7.9 | 2.4 | 2.4 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 2.3 | 16.6 |
| Total | 82 | 29 | 53.0 | 37.0 | 79.3 | 1.6 | 6.3 | 7.9 | 2.4 | 2.4 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 2.3 | 16.6 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
