OKC Thunder: What Does Chet Holmgren's Return Mean for Jaylin Williams?

The Thunder have been without their third star for months, and his return could shake up the rotation.

On Thursday, the Thunder announced Chet Holmgren’s return to the court via his absence on the injury report. With Oklahoma City set to play the Toronto Raptors, Holmgren will be on the floor for the first time since Nov. 10.

After being out for an extended time, Holmgren’s minutes are unlikely to immediately match the playing time he had to start the season. Still, Holmgren will almost certainly take back his starting role and potentially move Isaiah Hartenstein to the bench. Of course, there is a possibility the bigs start together and form a twin towers look, but with Holmgren back, the starting lineup could differ from game to game, depending on the matchup.

Regardless of who starts, the Thunder now have two extremely impactful players to go to inside. Before his injury, Holmgren averaged 18.2 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.9 blocks in nine full games. Meanwhile, Hartenstein has averaged 11.4 points, 12.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 29 games.

With two starting-caliber centers now available for the Thunder, that leaves Jaylin Williams’ role in an interesting spot. Since his debut in December, Williams has slotted in nicely in the backup center role and even started a few games when Hartenstein had a brief absence in January.

Throughout the season, Williams’ impact has varied from game to game. Somewhat undersized at center, Williams has seemed more comfortable around the perimeter on offense in many matchups but is far more effective inside as a defender.

Williams will almost certainly be thrust into the third-string center role and might only get garbage time minutes in most games. However, there is still a spot for him to play alongside another big, particularly Holmgren. Last season in the playoffs, Williams and Holmgren played together in some stretches, which allowed Williams to man the interior defensively and Holmgren to be a roamer and better contest shots and disrupt the opposing offense. With the Thunder’s commitment to going small as well, Williams could easily be on the bench whenever Mark Daigneault chooses to go without Holmgren and Hartenstein.

Williams has been a solid piece for Oklahoma City this season and will continue to be an important figure if the Thunder’s starting bigs miss any more time. However, with the Thunder’s stacked roster and both starting bigs healthy for the first time, Williams has likely been relegated to the end of the bench.

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