OKC Thunder Big Man's 2025 NBA Finals Flying Under the Radar

Oklahoma City is on the cusp of a championship with a 3-2 series lead in the NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers,

The headlines are all centered around superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and All-Star Jalen Williams, who have posted some incredible scoring outings in the midst of a three-game streak of 30-point outings. The latest seeing Williams become the ninth player in NBA history to notch 40-plus points in a Finals game at age 24 or younger, putting his name alongside all-time greats.

Thunder rising star Chet Holmgren hasn't had such scoring luck. In these Finals, the Gonzaga product is averaging just 12.8 points a night on 37/14/94 shooting splits. However, his impact on Oklahoma City is flying too far under the radar.

Holmgren is turning in nearly ten rebounds per game, over a block per tilt and over half a steal in each game. In the NBA playoffs, the seven-footer grades out in the 72nd percentile defensively as an anchor of this historic unit.

A player who shattered his hip on Nov. 10 should not be able to make this level of impact seven months later while blowing up pick-and-roll action in the 89th percentile, limiting those chances to just 0.482 points per possession this playoffs.

Some of the biggest moments in this series has been Holmgren sitting down to defend the likes of Tyrese Haliburton and Andrew Nembhard in space. That has led the Gonzaga big man to limit matchups to 0.667 in isolation.

At the rim, as the playoffs have progressed, Holmgren has spent more time as the only big man on the floor for Mark Daigneault and he is still holding matchups to a lowly 47.3% at the cup.

For the Oklahoma City Thunder to get over the hump this playoffs and capturing its first championship in team history it will take another high-level defensive game from Holmgren.

The seven-footer has been a massive part of the Thunder's title quest regardless of the point column for Oklahoma City's No. 3 option. To make this impact after playing a year and a half of NBA basketball is special and it shows just how bright Holmgren's –– and Oklahoma City's –– future is.