Chet Holmgren named NBA All-Rookie First Team

After helping guide the Oklahoma City Thunder to the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, Chet Holmgren was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team on Monday.

The former Gonzaga star and No. 2 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft had a historic first season in the association. Holmgren became the first player in league history to finish a season with at least 200 assists, 190 blocks and 129 3-pointers made. Holmgren averaged 16.5 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.3 blocks while shooting 53.0% from the floor and 37.0% from beyond the arc. His impact on both ends of the floor helped the Thunder (57-25) exceed expectations as the youngest No. 1 seed in NBA playoff history.

Holmgren was joined on the first team by Jamie Jaquez Jr. of the Miami Heat, Brandon Miller of the Charlotte Hornets, Brandin Podziemski of the Golden State Warriors and the 2023-24 Rookie of the Year, Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs. Keyonte George of the Utah Jazz, GG Jackson II of the Memphis Grizzlies, Dereck Lively II of the Dallas Mavericks, Amen Thompson of the Houston Rockets and Holmgren’s OKC teammate Cason Wallace made up the all-rookie second team.

Holmgren is the second former Gonzaga standout to earn all-rookie first-team honors, joining Memphis Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke, who finished fourth in NBA Rookie of the Year voting in the 2019-20 season. Kelly Olynyk earned a spot on the 2013-14 all-rookie second team as a member of the Boston Celtics. Former Wooden Award winner Adam Morrison made it on the all-rookie second team in the 2006-07 season, despite finishing with the fourth-most votes for the rookie of the year award.

Holmgren’s first season as a pro ended earlier this week after the Thunder fell to the Dallas Mavericks in Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals. The 7-foot-1 post battled valiantly in just the second elimination game of his young career with 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the floor, including a go-ahead dunk that put OKC up 116-115 with 20.1 seconds left. The Thunder were on the verge of forcing Game 7 until Gilgeous-Alexander was called for a shooting foul on PJ Washington, who made two of three free-throw attempts to make it 117-116.

The one-point defeat brought an end to Holmgren’s magical playoff run, in which he averaged 15.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.5 blocks in 10 games. In his playoff game debut against the New Orleans Pelicans, Holmgren tallied 15 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks — a stat line only Shaquille O’Neal, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing and Kevin Kenner have put together as rookies. A few nights later, Holmgren scored 20 points in the first half — the first rookie to do so in over a decade — and became the first rookie in OKC franchise history to score at least 25 points and grab five rebounds in the playoffs.