Chet Holmgren’s Scoring Jump is Becoming Even More Important for OKC Thunder

Oklahoma City received more bad news on the injury front this week — as if there hasn’t been enough to go around lately. The Thunder’s season has been headlined by injuries all over the floor, some small and minor, and others more major.

Jalen Williams, who missed over a month to start the season with a wrist injury, is now out for multiple weeks with a hamstring strain. This comes at a time where Isaiah Hartenstein is still sidelined, and both Jaylin Williams and Alex Caruso exited Monday afternoon’s game early and didn’t return.

This Thunder team has had to adjust and adapt all season long, though. And they’ve done a tremendous job, the only downside being that the starting five hasn’t been able to play hardly any games together. The two constants have been Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren, and they’re a big reason why there hasn’t been any drop off with the injuries.

Holmgren, specifically, has taken a big leap offensively this season, and is eyeing his first potential All-Star Game appearance in the process. He has proven he can be a second scoring option, and with Jalen Williams sidelined, the Thunder will have to rely on his scoring even more moving forward.

When Williams missed the first month of the season with a wrist injury, Holmgren looked more comfortable than ever as a star scoring option. And on Monday afternoon, when Oklahoma City was shorthanded, he had one of his best performances of the entire season. In just 31 minutes, Holmgren poured in 28 points, eight rebounds, and two blocks. He was ultra efficient, too. The Thunder big man shot 11-of-16 from the floor and 4-of-5 from 3-point range.

This has been a regular occurrence for Holmgren this season, who has seen more scoring outbursts than ever before. Two weeks ago against Utah, Holmgren had a similar outing with 23 points and 12 rebounds on 9-of-15 from the floor. His improvement this season has been obvious, and a lot of that can be attributed to finally having a healthy offseason to grow and improve.

This season, he’s averaging 17.8 points and 8.5 rebounds — both career highs. He’s also shooting 57.3% from the floor and 36.8% from 3-point range.

With Williams out, and other injury questions across the Thunder's roster, Holmgren's scoring leap is now more important than ever. Oklahoma City needs more big performances out of their big man. He has already proven he's more than capable as a second option, and now he'll have the chance to continue proving it.