Chet Holmgren's Defense Continues to Change the Game for OKC Thunder

For Chet Holmgren, it probably hasn’t been the start to his NBA career that he always envisioned. Of course, when he’s on the court, he has been terrific — this is exactly the player the Thunder thought they were drafting at No. 2. But two of his three seasons in the association, he has suffered a major injury.

Holmgren jumped in last season after missing his entire “rookie” season with a foot injury, and he really didn’t miss a beat. He completely altered the Thunder’s direction and dynamic as a team and lifted this squad from the play-in to the No. 1 seed. Of course, it wasn’t just Holmgren’s doing, but he filled a void that the Thunder so obviously had.

This season, Oklahoma City was well equipped to handle an injury to Holmgren with the addition of Isaiah Hartenstein. It didn’t make his absence any less obvious, though. Everyone knew that the Thunder needed Holmgren back in the lineup to reach its ceiling, and it always felt like something was missing. After he shook off the rust, Oklahoma City’s special season took form, and this team hasn’t looked back one bit.

Now, in the NBA Finals, Holmgren is injury free and changing the game for Oklahoma City. The road was long for Holmgren, and the injuries took a toll both mentally and physically, but now he’s performing at the highest level on the highest stage.

On Friday night, Holmgren’s late-game defense won the game. Oklahoma City let him switch screens down the stretch, and his ability to cover ground and stick onto guards helped the Thunder slow down Indiana’s ever-efficient offense.

“Really just trying to be in the moment, think what the game needed and try to make a winning play from there,” Holmgren said. “You know, having faith that even though it's not promised, that you're going to make the right play if you try and stack up all the right things and a good outcome will come out of it.

“Fortunately enough, we were able to do that. My stops were a big part of the end of the game. Shai hit big free throws. We had great execution, great box-outs, great rebounds and close possessions. It was kind of a little bit of everything.”

Holmgren’s impact stretched far beyond the boxscore per usual, but his stats were pretty impressive too. He played 37 minutes and record 14 points and 15 rebounds on 4-of-9 from the floor. He also added a block and a steal on the defensive side. It’s the second game in a row that Holmgren netted a double-double with points and rebounds. 

The Thunder’s late-game adjustment of having Holmgren switch screens, trusting him to cover shift guards, lifted Oklahoma City to victory. Holmgren saw his impact, and spoke about it to the media. Now it’s time for him to keep that momentum going, and find a way to start Game 5 the way that Game 4 ended.