Chet Holmgren is Evolving for OKC Thunder

This season has been a dream for the OKC Thunder in a lot of ways. Despite battling through a shortened offseason and injury adversity, the Oklahoma City Thunder are 23-1 -– a win away from matching the Golden State Warriors 24-1 start in the 2015-16 campaign that eventually saw them rattle off 73 wins –- A large reason for the success is rising star big man Chet Holmgren.

The Gonzaga product is averaging 18.6 points, 8.1 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.7 steals and 1.5 blocks per game while shooting 57% from the floor, 36% from beyond the arc and 78% at the charity stripe as the 23-year-old has reached a career high in shot attempts per game.

Holmgren has re-invented himself as a scorer, doing it inside the arc at a high level. The should be All-Star lock is shooting 79% at the rim (89th percentile), 55% in the mid-range (84th percentile) which is even more improved on long mid-range jumpers at 57% and uses all of that to set up a defense by hitting above the break triples at a 36% clip.

On the defense end, the No. 2 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft has always been elite, even being an anchor on the Thunder's title team a year ago just months after fracturing his hip. This season, that hasn't changed, in fact, it has gotten better. So far this season, Holmgren is only letting matchups shoot 43% at the rim, ranking him in the 91st percentile according to Synergy. He grades out as elite in man defense, in the half court and taking away sideline out of bounds plays. He can utilize his length to defend on an island and recover to deter a shot when he gets beat. This is nothing new and a big reason why he is viewed as the Defensive Player of the Year front runner at this moment.

But the offensive leap has seen the Oklahoma City Thunder get a lot more out of him. He generates 1.235 points per possession in transition running rim-to-rim as a big man, he is cutting and rolling to the basket now more than ever. Holmgren 1.4 points per possession as a pick-and-roll partner grading out in the 87th percentile and is even turning in 1.1 points per possession on post ups as he sees more entry passes down low this season.

Right before Bricktown's eyes their seven foot big man is turning into a legit two-way star. The numbers and eye test bare it out with each improvement helping the overall team get better.