OKC Thunder Have Tools to Maximize Chet Holmgren Offensively

The Oklahoma City Thunder are in a position to maximize Chet Holmgren this upcoming season.

After playing 82 games in 2023-24, Holmgren missed significant time a year ago due to a hip fracture. He returned from the injury faster than anyone expected, checking back in on Feb. 7 and remaining healthy throughout the team's title run.

However, the offense for Holmgren wasn't there for a large portion of the postseason. That is to be expected. He was battling back from a broken hip that left him bedridden during a long stretch of the regular season.

To see his naturally flat shot fall flatter in the playoffs made sense as his legs went. This was no small task to even lace up the kicks again in the same season as a never-before-seen-NBA injury. That didn't stop him from being an elite-level defender who helped carry the Thunder on that end of the floor to a championship.

Now, after being paid this summer to the tune of a five-year $239.9 million contract extension, all eyes turn to the Gonzaga product, bolstering his offensive production. The OKC Thunder are expected to take a step forward from the big man during his third season on the hardwood.

Playing alongside Jalen Williams and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with their scoring gravity as a duo, plenty will open up for Holmgren to take his next step.

The most encouraging part? Any offensive limitation or lack of production you point to, isn't from a lack of talent. Look no further than the first nine games of this past season before he splattered on the court. Holmgren was averaging 18.2 points, 9.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 3.8 stocks per game while shooting 52% from the floor, 40% from 3-point land and 77% from the charity stripe.

This was a great encore to a rookie campaign that saw Holmgren as the starting center turn in 16.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 0.6 steals and 2.3 blocks per game on 53/37/79 shooting splits. What a baseline to start his NBA career.

All of the tools remain for Holmgren with an Insatiable hunger to be great. His 3-point ability will be able to space the floor effectively, he has popped as a roller and play-finisher and the Thunder need to highlight him in the offense early and often next season.

3 Things the Thunder Should Do to Help Chet Holmgren

• A heavy dose of trailing triples
• Pick-and-Pops as the solo big next to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
• Dishes to the top of the key, playing off the catch

The Oklahoma City Thunder can get out and run in transition. They often create artificial transition chances, pushing the pace after the rare made buckets let up. With Holmgren lingering around the rim to block and deter shots, that tempo can be used to the Thunder's advantage to create wide-open triples for the center trailing the play.

Along those same lines, his ability to stroke the trey ball should be force-fed to him throughout the season. An easy way to do that is to get things back to the basics. While the double-big lineups with Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein found their rhythm throughout their short partnership down the stretch of last season, the bread and butter for Oklahoma City is still Holmgren as the lone big on the floor.

His screen setting isn't of the space-creating and wipe-away variety that Hartenstein presents, but Gilgeous-Alexander doesn't need that aid to gain separation. Partnering the superstar with Holmgren at the end of the first and third frames when the league's MVP is typically on the floor without his co-star, Williams, would maximize both players. The pick-and-pops with Gilgeous-Alexander and Holmgren give the superstar space to operate in the mid-range and at the cup while the big man is ready to launch triples.

On the flip side, Hartenstein's elite screen setting ability is more beneficial to Jalen Williams to get the Santa Clara product a full head of steam at the rim with the separation gained.

Regardless of who else is on the floor, with Holmgren perched at the top of the key, gives him unlimited offense to bolster his offensive production. From diving to the rim off-ball to getting dimes dropped off for a triple and even exploring more of the off-the-catch attack that he flashed in that nine-game sample size before the injury.

When Holmgren would take the defense off the dribble downhill, he gained easy buckets at the rim but also increased his volume of trips to the free throw line.

From individual talent, to skillset and roster construction, everything is in place for Holmgren to take that expected step forward on the offensive end and maximize the Thunder's chances to repeat as champions.