Kenrich Williams Reveals What Makes Chet Holmgren Such an Impactful Defender
The Oklahoma City Thunder have seen rookie big man Chet Holmgren be an instant impact defender. Kenrich Williams reveals what makes him so impactful.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are getting ready to take on the Phoenix Suns on Friday night in the Paycom Center. Ahead of that clash, Kenrich Williams met with the media at this morning's shoot around.
When the veteran forward was asked what the most overlooked part of defense is at the NBA level, he said "Because the game is so offensive heavy, guarding without fouling. If you can do that, you become a solid NBA defender. The game is very offensive-heavy, it is definitely harder for defenders to defend in the NBA, so I would say just guarding without fouling."
That is a skill that usually takes time to develop. As a young player is adjusting to the high-level scorers, the pace of the league, athleticism and court spacing it is easy to get beat and lead to being out of position and thus fouling. It is so rare for rookies to be impactful on that end of the floor, and even more rare for two plus-defensive rookies to be on the same team.
However, that is what the Oklahoma City Thunder have with Chet Holmgren and Cason Wallace. Holmgren, who has played 72 games this season as the anchor of the Thunder defense fouled out of his first NBA game on Wednesday against the Rockets. Williams praise the Gonzaga product's ability on Friday morning.
“He’s done an amazing job. It’s been night and day since my first four years here. Just having that presence at the rim like Chet [Holmgren] has been for us this year," the forward said.
Holmgren only fouls 2.4 times per game, while Wallace is hit with 1.6 citations per tilt. The two certainly fall under Williams' rule for solid defense at the next level.
Other Shootaround notes:
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is listed as doubtful for Friday's contest with the New York Knicks, went through a two-on-two workout with Thunder staffers at shootaround.
Williams discussed his first time meeting the OKC Thunder bench boss was at a local Hotel where Mark Daigneault caught him by surprise, "I didn't know who he was, to be honest with you," but the TCU product quickly bought into what the young coach was selling.
“[Mark Daigneault] checked every box as a coach. Even outside of coaching, just personality-wise, he checks every box,” Williams said. He shared the same sentiment that a member of Daigneault's first-ever G League team expressed.
Want to join the discussion? Like Inside the Thunder on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Thunder news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.
