Chet Holmgren’s Long-Awaited NBA Debut is Fast Approaching

After learning the ins-and-outs of the NBA from the bench for a full season, Chet Holmgren's official NBA debut will be here next month.

It’s been 461 days since Chet Holmgren’s name was announced second overall at the 2022 NBA Draft, exciting Oklahoma City Thunder fans far and wide.

But in August of 2022, Holmgren’s career was altered.

While guarding LeBron James on a fast break in Jamal Crawford’s CrawsOver Pro-Am, Holmgren suffered a Lisfranc injury, sidelining him for his entire rookie season. After expecting the 7-footer to galvanize the OKC roster just a few months later, it was a disappointment to most that his official NBA debut would have to wait.

Now, after waiting over a full calendar year, the excitement has reached peak levels both for local and league-wide fans.

To this point, we’ve only seen Holmgren professionally in both the 2022 and 2023 Summer Leagues. And he lived up to the hype in both, wowing on both ends of the court.

In his first-ever quasi professional game, Holmgren poured on 23 points, seven rebounds and six blocks, breaking the Salt Lake City single-game blocks record in the process. Most recently, Holmgren scored 25 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dealt five blocks against the Pacers in Las Vegas.

Next season, Holmgren is set to function as Oklahoma City's starting center, flanking the likes of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey, Jalen Williams and more with rim-protection, floor-stretching and high IQ play.

The next time he takes the court, Holmgren will likely face top 2023 selection and fellow 7-footer Victor Wembanyama, whom he last faced off against in FIBA action.

The Thunder take on the Spurs at 7 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 9 in Paycom Center.

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