The Athletic’s Shams Charania dropped some unfortunate news on Tuesday when he reported the Oklahoma City Thunder fear rookie Chet Holmgren suffered ligament damage in his foot.
Holmgren is undergoing further testing to find out what the timetable for his return may be. Exams reportedly show Holmgren potentially tore multiple ligaments in the foot.
Well, this news just sucks. No way around it. Holmgren gave the Thunder a shot in the arm in terms of optimism and excitement for the future of the franchise after going No. 2 in the 2022 NBA draft.
While it’s unknown when the injury occurred, several speculate it happened in the Seattle Pro-Am (The CrawsOver) run by Jamal Crawford this past weekend. After Holmgren forced a miss on a LeBron James fast break, he landed awkwardly and began limping. Holmgren exited the game and did not return. The game was called off due to unsafe court conditions shortly afterward.
There’s fear Chet Holmgren has suffered ligament damage in his foot, per @ShamsCharania
Here’s the play:
(🎥 @AhnFireDigital )
pic.twitter.com/CkRCO1MOO5— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) August 24, 2022
Now, of course, that is just speculation with no real evidence to tie the two together. Considering the injury news comes a few days after this event, it’s hard not to connect the dots.
The Thunder will kick off their 2022-23 regular season on the road against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Oct. 19, which gives Holmgren roughly two months to get ready to return. The rookie’s return is up in the air until more is known about the nature and severity of the foot injury.
