Watch: Chet Holmgren finetunes for upcoming season with solid workout at NBA Open Runs
OKC Thunder star Chet Holmgren is putting in the work to dive head-first into NBA stardom next season. In the ongoing offseason, Holmgren was seen fine-tuning his craft with a solid workout session at Dashletics NBA Open Runs earlier this week.
Chet Holmgren was drafted second overall by the Thunder in the 2022 NBA draft. However, he debuted as a rookie in the 2023-24 season after missing out the entirety of the 2022-23 due to a Lisfranc injury to his right foot.
Holmgren had a terrific rookie season with the OKC Thunder, averaging 16.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.3 blocks while shooting 53.0% from the field and 37.0% from beyond the arc. He was one of the major contributors to the Thunder securing the top seed in the Western Conference alongside the Denver Nuggets with a 57-25 record.
Chet Holmgren was also a crucial piece for the Thunder's postseason run, averaging 15.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 2.5 blocks in the first playoff appearance of his career. The 22-year-old rising star was among the favorites to clinch the Rookie of the Year award last season, but he placed second for the honor behind the first overall pick of the 2023 NBA draft, Victor Wembanyama.
Chet Holmgren compares his ROTY case with eventual winner Victor Wembanyama
Appearing on the "Road Trippin' Show" podcast in mid-July, Chet Holmgren opened up about his race with Victor Wembanyama for the Rookie of the Year Award. When asked if he believed that he should have gotten the honors, the Thunder big-man elaborated that it ultimately came down to different situations between him and Wembanyama.
"Our situations were different. Like polar opposites," Holmgren said. "You can come up with 50 pros and cons for each of us on things outside of statistics. Just completely random things like who is on our team, what we are playing for, how much attention is placed on us. You can come up with a million things for each of us to try to skew decisions.
"But at the end of the day, what is the criteria? It's all in the eye of the beholder."
Victor Wembanyama concluded his rookie season in the NBA, averaging a double-double stat line of 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 1.2 steals and an NBA-best 3.6 blocked shots per game. He also shot 46.5% from the field and 32.5% from beyond the arc, as the San Antonio Spurs failed to qualify for the postseason, having seeded second-last in the Western Conference with a 22-60 record.