Chet Holmgren Fuels Historic OKC Thunder Comeback

Months ago, Thunder forward Chet Holmgren was effectively bed-ridden, having suffered a right iliac wing fracture just 10 games into his second season.

Oklahoma City’s former No. 2 has talked at length about how frustrating the injury was, essentially erasing an offseason’s worth of work in an instant. Not accounting for the fact he missed his entire first season with a Lisfranc foot injury.

Thursday night, in a pivotal Game 3 against the Memphis Grizzlies, Holmgren’s season came full circle. Down 26 points at the half after a Memphis barrage, Holmgren had just one point on his box score. But at the break, Holmgren saw a reset and came out a different player.

In the ensuing 24 minutes, Holmgren would push his total to 24 points on 50% shooting from both the field and three, fueling a 29-point Oklahoma City comeback, the largest in franchise history and the second-largest all-time in the postseason.

The 7-footer made play after play in the third quarter, hitting a number of threes, finishing at the rim and even getting to the line in the all-out performance.

“Credit to Mark for sticking with me. It changed the trajectory of the game. Trusting me and calling a play for me bomb one out of half after that s— storm I put up in the first half.” he said following the game.

Holmgren’s had a dominant postseason already, combining for 39 points, 21 rebounds and seven blocks in the first two games versus the Grizzlies. There’s a case to be made he’s been the team’s best and most impactful player through three games, and he’ll certainly be needed as competition continues to ramp up.

The Thunder and Grizzlies will play a potentially series-decided Game 4 at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 26.