In this new series, Thunder Wire will assign three goals to each of the 21 players, per Spotrac, that make up the Oklahoma City Thunder roster.
The Thunder’s season kicks off on Oct. 25 against the Chicago Bulls. After a surprising 40-42 campaign that ended with a win shy of the playoffs, OKC enters this year with playoff aspirations.
Buy Thunder TicketsLet’s assign three goals for Chet Holmgren, who will play his rookie season after a season-ending foot injury last year caused a delay. The 2022 No. 2 pick is OKC’s crown jewel draft pick of the rebuild. He’ll be the starting center for the Thunder and will be slotted to be their best defender.
Stay healthy
This has been discussed ad nauseam, but — fair or not — health has been one of the biggest talking points surrounding Holmgren. Missing the entire 2021-22 season due to a Lisfranc injury suffered in a glorified pickup game certainly didn’t shush away those concerns either.
Availability will be one of Holmgren’s biggest goals this upcoming season. While it’s unrealistic to expect him to play the full 82 games, if he can play 60-plus times then that’s a massive win for those who think the lanky seven-footer’s injury concerns are overblown.
Seven-foot players usually have a poor history of health when they suffer serious foot injuries. Holmgren will look to buck the trend.
Win rookie awards
Heading into the season, Holmgren is seen as one of three heavy favorites for Rookie of the Year. The other two are Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson.
Considering the expected role/volume of offensive touches all three will likely receive, it’s hard to envision Holmgren winning the award unless the Thunder are one of the best teams in the Western Conference.
Wembanyama and — barring a Damian Lillard trade — Henderson will be the main option on their respective teams. This will help both of them get better counting stats in stress-free situations.
With that said though, Holmgren could definitely finish as high as No. 2 if he produces quality offensive numbers and great rim protection. If that happens, he should also easily make the All-Rookie First Team as well.
Show signs of shot creation
A big reason why Holmgren went No. 2 in the 2022 NBA draft was his flashes of ball-handling and self-creation as a seven-footer.
If he can sharpen those skills, then that will raise his ceiling as one of the best centers in the league on both sides of the floor. There were signs of that in summer league, but it’s still clearly a work in progress as he had a high number of turnovers for a center.
It’ll be interesting to see how OKC balances Holmgren’s long-term skills and immediate impact.
If the Thunder plays him like a traditional rim-running center, that will bear the best immediate results for short-term success. On the other hand, letting Holmgren experiment as the main ball-handler on a handful of possessions could pay dividends in the long run — even if it hurts OKC next season.
