Another OKC Thunder Championship Push Could Rely On Chet Holmgren

The Thunder need their young big man to step up if they want to have their best shot at the title.

May 26, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren (7) reacts after a play during the third quarter against the San Antonio Spurs in game five of the western conference finals for the 2026 NBA playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

The Thunder making another championship run could come down to one player.  

The Oklahoma City Thunder have had a busy offseason as they are trying to prepare to make it back to the NBA Finals, as well as trying to set them up for success in the future. This has come in the form of trading players away and choosing who to re-sign and who to let go. Because of this, the Thunder’s roster and rotation will look a little different next season, but getting back to the top might fall on one player. 

Oklahoma City doesn’t have to worry about its star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander showing up to play, but it was made clear last year that he can’t do it alone. One player who will have to show up more to give the Thunder their best chance is Chet Holmgren. 

Although Holmgren’s performance in the Western Conference Finals finished his season on a bad note, he had a great season altogether. Holmgren averaged 17.1 points per game in the regular season and collected a handful of honors in the process. He was named an NBA All-Star, was named to the All-NBA Third Team, made the All-NBA Defensive First Team and then even finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting. 

All this being said, Holmgren has proved he can step up and be a key piece in OKC winning. However, he has to do this on the biggest stage. Holmgren had the lowest scoring postseason of his career this year, averaging 14.9 points per game. The interesting thing is he had the best shooting postseason of his career, shooting 56.8% from the field on average. 

To put it bluntly, Holmgren just has to want it more. The Thunder need a lot more confidence out of their young star big man, and he has the skill to do it. It has become apparent that teams will play any style of defense to make sure that Gilgeous-Alexander has his toughest day scoring, and in these situations Holmgren has to be the go-to guy. If he can go into next season and carry his confidence from the regular season over to the playoffs, OKC should have a much better shot at winning it all. 

Holmgren has shown that he has all the skills necessary to be one of the best players in the league; now, it’s just a matter of him believing in himself and taking that next step to help the Thunder get to the top once again.