Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren. Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Thunder star joins Tim Duncan in NBA playoff history

By Kevin McCormick | Last updated Apr 23, 2025 11:37 AM ET

Following a dominant run in the regular season, the Oklahoma City Thunder remain head and shoulders above the competition in the playoffs. Coming off another impressive victory, one of their key performers joined an all-time great in the history books.

After a historic blowout win in Game 1, the Thunder handily took care of business against the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday night with a 118-99 win to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the series.

OKC had multiple standouts in the Game 2 win, with Chet Holmgren among the top performers. He did it all on both ends to keep his team's momentum rolling to start the postseason, posting 20 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks.

With this performance, Holmgren became the first player since San Antonio Spurs legend Tim Duncan to achieve those stats in a playoff game in their sophomore season.

Chet in Game 2:

20 PTS
11 REB
5 BLK

First sophomore with those numbers in a playoff game since Tim Duncan. pic.twitter.com/ISVAgYO34y
— StatMuse (@statmuse) April 23, 2025

Anytime a player is in the same breath as a player like Duncan, they are doing something right. For the Thunder, seeing Holmgren play to this level is a major positive as they look to contend for a title.

After missing most of the regular season due to injury, Holmgren had to work his way back to 100 percent as the year went on. Based on how he's looked in the playoffs thus far, it doesn't seem like anything is holding him back.

With his two-way impact, Holmgren is by far the biggest X factor for the Thunder in the playoffs. If they're going to achieve their goal of a championship, he needs to be a key component on both ends.

When Holmgren is clicking like this, the Thunder are an even tougher team to beat. Along with providing a secondary scoring punch alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, he is capable of anchoring the defense and shutting down any opposing frontcourt matchup.

Kevin McCormick

Kevin McCormick is a basketball writer for Yardbarker with years of experience in the journalism field. Based out of Philadelphia, he graduated from Holy Family University with a degree in Sports Management in 2019. Since then, Kevin has gone on to build a career in sports writing

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