Chet Holmgren Must Be Prepared To Take On An Elevated Role

The OKC big man must keep carrying a large burden for the Thunder.

Mar 30, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren (7) shoots against the Detroit Pistons during the second half at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Oklahoma City’s big man needs to be prepared for a big role in the second round. 

The Thunder are gearing up, as their second-round matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers is set to start on Tuesday night. OKC is coming into this series after a dominant first round, sweeping Phoenix to open up the postseason. L.A., on the other hand, struggled in the back end of its first-round series, but was able to finish the series in six games. 

Oklahoma City is looking to display dominance once again in its upcoming series and will need the help of a certain OKC big to do so. 

Chet Holmgren came alive for the Thunder in the first round and will have to do so again starting Tuesday. Holmgren averaged 17.1 points per game against Phoenix and added 8.5 rebounds and two blocks per game to round out his round-one resume. While this is impressive for a third-year player, OKC’s big man will have to continue this level of play throughout the playoffs. 

A heavier burden was placed on Holmgren in the last two games of the first series, as Jalen Williams didn’t play due to a hamstring injury. This forced the Thunder's big man into the position of being the second option for OKC, and he lived up to the challenge. 

Holmgren only scored 10 points in Game 3, but in his defense, he only took six shots and shot 83.3% from the field. Then, Holmgren flipped that aggression switch in Game 4, as he completely took over. He posted a double-double that night as he scored 24 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for OKC. This helped OKC finish out the series, and is the same level of play Holmgren needs to continue. 

Williams is set to make his return soon, but even when he does, Holmgren shouldn’t shy away from being the second option. Returning from injury might mean he still isn’t back to his normal self, and if that's the case, Holmgren needs to be ready. 

The big man has proved multiple times that he can take over games and will need to showcase that against L.A. in the following games. The 7-foot-1 star is almost impossible to stop when he’s playing his best, and needs to be aggressive early to pin the Lakers down. 

The Thunder have multiple players who can be the second option to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and one of the most dangerous is, no doubt, Holmgren.