A season ago, Oklahoma City made the improbable leap from play-in team to the Western Conference’s top seed. The Thunder’s regular season was historic given the team’s youth, and they finally got the playoff experience they desperately needed.
In addition to a big season of growth, the team also had a successful offseason. The Thunder added two of the NBA’s best role players in Isaiah Hartenstein And Alex Caruso. Both players will play major roles for the Thunder next season and contribute to the team’s buzz machine. Currently, Oklahoma City is the favorite to win the Western Conference and is in the top 3 of the NBA championship odds.
One of the reasons the Thunder made a massive leap forward last season was the addition of Chet Holmgren Holmgren was one of the most impressive signings of the last decade and changed the course of the Thunder’s future. Oklahoma City was always going to be good with the current core, but Holmgren has exceeded the hype and pushed the Thunder’s ceiling to another level. He’s making this team a title contender.
He had a tremendous rookie season, anchoring the Thunder on defense and providing plenty of offense as well. Given everything we saw in Year 1, what’s Holmgren’s potential in Year 2? It seems like an All-Star nomination isn’t too out of the question.
In his first season with the Thunder after a year-long injury, Holmgren averaged 16.5 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists while shooting 53 percent from the field and 37 percent from three-point range. His outside shooting was extremely reliable, hovering around 45 percent for most of the season, but he lost his legs a bit toward the end. His impact never wavered, however. He averaged 2.3 blocks and established himself as one of the best basket protectors in the league.
Marc Daigneault The Thunder mentioned Holmgren several times during his exit interview and praised him on numerous occasions. He said Holmgren will only get better — and that an improvement over his production from last season would put him at the level of an All-Star. The Thunder will try to lean more on his creativity and utilize his potential playmaking abilities.
In reality, Holmgren’s ceiling next year includes an increase in points and assists per game. With the addition of Hartenstein, his rebounds probably won’t take a huge jump, but staying at around eight rebounds per game seems reasonable. Holmgren’s ceiling next season could look something like 21-24 points and four assists. His defense will still be top-notch, and he’ll have his legs under him for a full season.
An All-Star appearance for Holmgren next season is entirely possible.
Want to join the discussion? LikeThunder on SIon Facebook andFollow us on Twitterto stay up to date with all the latest Thunder news. You can alsomeet the teambehind the cover.
