Chet Holmgren Helps Thunder Punch Their Ticket To The Second Round

The OKC big man put on one of his best performances of the year on Monday night.

Apr 27, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren (7) against the Phoenix Suns in the second half during game four of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Thunder’s big man came up huge in OKC’s biggest game of the year so far. 

The Oklahoma City Thunder officially brought out the brooms as they won their opening playoff series against the Suns on Monday night with a Game 4 win, 131-122. This marks the third straight year that OKC has won its opening round playoff matchup in just four bouts, and hopefully means the Thunder have more success to come. 

Game 4 was filled with individual Thunder players having some of their best performances of the series, and one in particular that sticks out is Chet Holmgren. The third-year big man had his best performance of the series by far and was one of the leading factors in helping OKC officially move to the next round. 

Holmgren was the second leading scorer for Oklahoma City, putting up 24 points on 56.3% shooting. He was also the team's leading rebounder, grabbing 12 boards and claiming his first double-double of the postseason. 

He had no blocks this game, but Holmgren’s presence on the defensive side of the ball deterred opponents and made it a difficult night. This, along with the two steals he had, made him once again a menace on the defensive side of the ball. 

Putting both his offensive and defensive dominance together in this game, Holmgren was one of the most impactful players on the floor, putting up a +21 net rating on Monday night. This was the second-best of the night, only behind Ajay Mitchell. 

Oklahoma City needed someone to step up with the absence of Jalen Williams, and Holmgren was exactly the man for the job. Now, with more difficult opponents on the horizon, Holmgren will have to continue to step up and be one of OKC’s leading men. 

He has proven this season that he is up for the challenge, as he averaged the most points of his career with 17.1 per game. Now he is starting the postseason off strong, averaging 17.3 points per game in the first series. 

Monday night showcased that Holmgren is more than capable of stepping up for Oklahoma City on the biggest stage and that he can do it again in the future. The Thunder will continue to need this type of play out of their big man as they will take on either the Lakers or Rockets in the next round. With Holmgren competing at this level, OKC is hard to stop, and hopefully, the young star is just getting started.