Popular Basketball Podcast Gives High Praise to OKC Thunder Rookies

The Oklahoma City Thunder have had a great start to the season, aided in large part by two of the team's first-year players.

Sam Vecenie of The Athletic discussed the team's young talent with Bryce Simon on the most recent episode of the Game Theory Podcast.

On the show, Vecenie and Simon highlighted both Chet Holmgren and Cason Wallace as two of the 11 rookies in the NBA that fans need to know about.

"Chet Holmgren, my God, you are a star," Vecenie said to kick off the conversation. "It was unbelievable seeing him operate against the Golden State Warriors."

The senior writer for The Athletic went on to point out that the Warriors usually do a good job of confusing rookies and making the game hard for young players, but that Holmgren had no problem with the veteran squad.

On Saturday night against Golden State, Holmgren went for a career-high 36 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks.

Vecenie continued to praise the former No. 2 overall pick, saying that he believes Holmgren is the current frontrunner for the Rookie of the Year award.

"If you made me pick a rookie for Rookie of the Year right now, it's Chet," Vecenie said. "I don't think it's that close."

Simon agreed with his co-host and praised Holmgren's efficiency and versatility, saying that he liked how OKC has used their star 7-footer. The former American University basketball player also pointed out Holmgren's shooting splits, which are very impressive for a rookie who has as large of a role in his team's offense as the former Gonzaga center.

In the first 14 games of his NBA career, Holmgren is shooting 56.5% from the field, 46% from 3-point range and 90.7% from the free throw line.

After their discussion about Holmgren, Vencenie and Simon highlighted Wallace and how much of an impact he has had on the Thunder as a rookie.

"Cason Wallace has been great so far for Oklahoma City," Vecenie said. "I really love the way they're utilizing him."

The two hosts went on to say that they were impressed by Wallace's defensive acumen and his incredible efficiency, pointing out that he could eventually take over Lu Dort's role on the team if the fifth-year wing was included in a hypothetical trade.

14 games into his NBA career, Wallace is shooting 62.5% from the field, 54.2% from beyond the arc and 100% from the free throw line.

Vecenie and Simon wrapped up their discussion about Holmgren and Wallace with praise for the Thunder organization, saying that the team and its' front office put their rookies in the best position to succeed and play to their strengths.

Want to join the discussion? Like Inside the Thunder on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Thunder news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.