Chet Holmgren Continues to Unlock His Game, Consistency Key

There has always been something unique about Chet Holmgren's game. Climbing the ranks as a high schooler earned him the unicorn label quickly as this plus seven-footer showed off high end handles for his size, playmaking chops, shot creation ability and three level scoring spurred on by his elite trey ball.

In year three, it is starting to take shape at the NBA level in what has been an interesting journey. After a delayed start to his career, he played all 82 games in the 2023-24 campaign before fracturing his hip last November but making it back in time to close out a championship campaign for the OKC Thunder.

After a healthy offseason, Holmgren has returned to the fold a much improved player. From watching the first 21 games of the season, it feels as if he is on the precipice of exploding into a new tier as a player and locking his name onto the All-Star squad with plenty more accolades to add by year's end.

In the his 17 games this season, Holmgren is averaging a career-high 18.3 points, tying a career-high 8.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.5 blocks and 0.7 steals per game on a career-best 55% shooting from the floor, 35% shooting from beyond the arc and 80% from the charity stripe.

Holmgren has posted 15-plus points in 11 of his 17 contests and has only been held below 10 points once so far this season. In Sunday's game against the Portland Trail Blazers it perfectly showed what is next for the Gonzaga product and how he will swiftly elevate his already career best numbers.

In the midst of this tight game in Portland, Holmgren went through a dry spill offensively. It almost appeared as though he was over thinking when to tap into his passing chops and when to go score often being too unselfish and passing up scoring chances for himself. Until the second half rolled around where he attempted nine shots converting on six of them to tally 12 points, five rebounds, an assist, a steal and two blocks in 17 minutes of action.

The Seven-Footer has already turned himself into a lethal shooter in the mid-range and is cutting/rolling to the rim now more than he ever has in his career and converting at a high clip. This has led to inside-out scoring success for him keeping him impactful on the offensive end even when his three point shot isn't falling in a certian game or for a small stretch.

With more consistency in his mindset of just looking to put the pumpkin in the patch, which he is finding as his shot attempts per game climbs to a career-best 12.3, expect his output to be even more eye-popping very soon.