This heightened already lofty comparisons, like to a certain future Hall of Famer who roamed outside, drilled triples and stood 6' 10". It looks like Chet Holmgren got even more excited to join the Oklahoma City Thunder after witnessing Josh Giddey and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put on a show against the New York Knicks. The only thing that kept Delaney from laughing was his respect for Suggs, whose basketball acumen was such that many believed he could see the future. Oklahoma City Thunder rookie Chet Holmgren was spotted at the team practice facility on Friday doing various on-court shooting drills with the training staff. Biggest thing since Penny and Shaq.") Holmgren suffered the rare basketball foot injury during a Seattle Pro-Am in August. Chet Holmgren. "We beat them by 20. Linebacker on his football team. "Look at me. Bennedict Richard Felder Mathurin (born June 19, 2002) is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Holmgren also took on DeMar DeRozan, Jayson Tatum, who had just competed in the N.B.A. Holmgren and Suggs were teammates in AAU from third grade, and for four years and three high school state championships (the fourth was canceled because of COVID-19, but Holmgren won four because he played varsity as an eighth-grader) at Minnehaha Academy. Of course you're going to say that, you're his father. Take a closer look at some of the impactful activations hosted by the Kings during Black History Month. Chet Holmgren (Age in 2028: 25) Though Chet hasn't made his NBA debut yet, there's no question . He checks the datain the paint (77%), midrange (68%), beyond the arc (67%). Its not like were losing every game by 30 points. He only wishes he had looked into trademarks, or at least slapped CHUNCRN on a personalized license plate. Strength and size do matter. But many others like Blake Griffin (2009 No. But they loved Holmgren. To help Holmgren cope, Thunder Coach Mark Daigneault gave him a copy of Mans Search for Meaning. That best-selling 1946 book, written by Viktor Frankl, a Holocaust survivor, emphasizes finding meaning amid suffering. His trainers at this peak performance laboratory, P3, tout their focus as the intersection of sports and science. Yeah, Mr. Unicorn says, his nonchalance warranted and striking. He continued drilling the boys with footwork exercises, spacing concepts and agility training. By middle school, a growth spurt had inflamed tendinitis in both knees. In the last 10 years, P3 has trained eight No. July 12, 2021 5:51am . Sandifer watched the crowds and opposing teams and coaches, who were nearly all Black, look at Holmgren skeptically before being won over by his game and toughness. Despite playing only 26.9 minutes per game, Holmgren averaged 14.1 points, 9.9 rebounds and 3.7 blocks. 2 overall pick in the NBA draft this past June, will miss the entire 2022-23 season with a Lisfranc injury to his right foot, the team. His foot might feel stiffer at times. Who does a player remind you of? Chet Holmgren has been linked to the Thunder for the entirety of the 2021-22 season as one of the key missing pieces on the current roster. He has taken up residency in the film room, hoping to understand how he will fit into this Thunder team a year from now. Sorry to my uncle if hes reading this, but you absolutely would not. He can add pounds without losing fluidity; offset weight deficits with agility, lateral speed, angles, elbows and elite change of direction; and become even more creative, the tallest kinematic mover in the NBA. "All my friends and everybody I've played with -- we're all of different nationalities and races. It's never made a difference, ever. . Unicorn is meant as a compliment, but it is dismissive and unfair, a rhetorical surrender; unicorns -- apologies to Kristaps Porzingis -- don't exist. David Holmgren played two years at the University of Minnesota, his career cut short by chronic knee issues. One of David's high school jobs was at a drugstore in the very same building, the one that eventually became Cup Foods. The 7-footer is highly-skilled, with 3-point shooting range, and defensive instincts that make him a possible. "We weren't spoiled," Chet Holmgren says. 12 and Arkansas Jaylin Williams with the 34th overall pick in the Draft. Holmgren has been a household name in NBA circles since he was 16. Go right at him and boom, he tells a trainer, mimicking a seated windmill dunk. "It's all metabolism. The subconscious is a mystical place, transmitting that cant be right when eyes see what they have never before witnessed. 1 picks. Either way, theres no precedent, and thats why Holmgren inspires awe and fear. On June 23, 2022 Chet Holmgren will find out if he's the #1 NBA pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, a pick held currently by the Orlando Magic. To study a true unicorn up close, to observe Holmgren slide and duck into positions most centers wouldnt dare attempt, is entrancing and forward-pointing. Point made. 1 pick in the draft (ESPN currently has him in the top three), he began telling anyone who would listen -- including Holmgren -- that he was destined to be the best American-born white player since Larry Bird. Even as everyone around him practices their personal expressions of incredulity -- and basketball games provide a master class in performative incredulity -- he retains the heavy-lidded, loose-jawed look of the eternally unimpressed. RotoWire considers the best player values in Yahoo fantasy leagues for Tuesday night's 10 game slate. This isnt the path we would have chosen, Thunder Coach Mark Daigneault said, and its not the path he would have chosen, but hell benefit from the way this is stretching and straining him.. Ben Simmons went No. (Remarkably, eight of them would go on to play Division I football or basketball, and next year two -- both top-5 picks, almost assuredly -- will be in the NBA.) Smith explains why his frame shouldn't be a concern heading into the NBA. If he quits on the workout, I won't work with him again.". Holmgren has been training hard to prove his body can hold up to the rigors of an NBA season. Most of the. He took the smelly sneakers out of his van and placed them on the roof every time they stopped for food or a bathroom break. Getty Images Chet Holmgren appeared to injure his foot guarding LeBron James at a pro-am game in . Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren has second-guessed the decisions that led to his season-ending foot injury. At 7 feet, 195 lb, Holmgren's unique, lanky frame has some concerned that he'll get injured in the NBA. The big knock on Kevin Durant coming out of college was that he was too skinny and weak. He says, instead, It comes down to what position youre put in.. Most forecasters have Holmgren headed to one of those locales. Holmgren already has better defensive instincts than any of the taller players draining threes on the NBA perimeters, according to Packie Turner, his basketball trainer. If he plays to the talent, which he did in spurts at Gonzaga, where he followed his high school and AAU teammate Jalen Suggs, he'll be generational. "So then he shows up," he says, clapping his hands and settling in for a good story. Holmgren wont have a taller player behind him. If so, he's KD with the shot-blocking ability to alter shots and change game plans. He found his way into pickup games with Joel Embiid, whose shots he reportedly blocked several times in one session, and with Kevin Durant, who later said that the seven-foot tall Holmgren had a rare combination of height and natural feel for the game and would be a problem for opponents in the N.B.A. Party of one: Why Chet Holmgren's unique game is the talk of the NBA draft, V. 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Larry Suggs looked at David, and then back at Chet. Thunder GM Sam Presti said in a statement: Certainly, we are disappointed for Chet, especially given the excitement he had about getting on the floor with his teammates this season. And so they watched him cross half court, and they watched him cross the free throw line, and they watched him gather himself, hold the ball with both hands, leap into the air and throw it through the hoop with primal force. Holmgren exists in what we can call the Pokusevski Zone, a tier reserved for players who are taller than seven feet yet weigh less than 200 pounds. Holmgrens early test results backed up his nickname. Basketball, he says, is movement.. As such, he's subject to a lot of scrutiny. Sweat drips down Chet Holmgrens much-discussed frame, soaking his T-shirt for emphasis. Holmgren, without any P3 training, leaped 27, which already ranks among the top 10% of NBA high jumpers. So many questions. Reddit iOS Reddit Android Reddit Premium About Reddit Advertise Blog Careers Press. Holmgren will be a top pick in the draft should he decide to leave Gonzaga after the season. This isnt the path we would have chosen, Daigneault said, and its not the path he would have chosen, but hell benefit from the way this is stretching and straining him.. A lot of times, playing pickup, stuff Ive never worked on just kind of happens, Holmgren says, just kind of comes to me.. You're 7 feet tall and known throughout the city, they told him. He had watched Chet play endless games of one-on-one with Jalen after practices, and he saw the talent gap close every season as the competitive fire -- at times verging on vengeance -- grew. 2 pick in the NBA draft, will miss the 2022-23 season because of a right foot injury. Charge multiple devicesThe circular design of the power strip allows for the 15" to coil up inside the body of the productmaking it easy to wrap up and throw in a bag to take with you when traveling. Yes, basketball experts watched Holmgren and saw . In elementary school, he tried various sports, even moonlighting briefly as a linebacker/tight end to improve his coordination. Trust me.". Holmgren, who was selected second overall in this year's draft out. Gonzaga's Chet Holmgren is a potential No. ", Suggs enlisted a local trainer, Aaron Delaney, to work with Holmgren, and his first words to Delaney were, "I want you to work with an eighth-grader who's going to be the first pick in the NBA draft." Did I just see that? Calipari mouthed. And he didnt feel like hed arrived after starring in the Summer League, setting a record with six blocks in his debut. Scouts and decision-makers, not to mention commentators, partake in it endlessly. They polished Suggss creation, adding weight but naturally, so he wouldnt slow down. Who could he possibly become? "You're going to see something a whole lot different than you saw in college. I mean, how could you even think about drafting someone who cant bench 185? But he is not priming for the NBA draft alone. But not as much as his wingspan (7' 6") or his movement efficiency. Doniwasnt athletic enough, supposedly, which shifted focus away from his strengths. It's hard to tell how he got hurt. My personal comp for Holmgren, Anthony Davis, was listed at 6-foot-10, 220 when he came into the league. If hes the No. He could pass with aplomb and showcased surprisingly nimble hands. 2 overall pick in the 2022 draft. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. 30 overall, though he went to the Denver Nuggets. The No. His frame will fill out and he will continue to be really really good at basketball. So I got to figure out how to turn it into a blessing, how to make the most out of it.. Many mock drafts have Holmgren as the No. Stay up to date with NBA player news, rumors, updates, analysis, social feeds, and more at FOX Sports. Stakes, raised. The Thunder chose Holmgren, a former standout at Gonzaga, with the No. Hes momentarily silent, trying to remember the first time someone compared him to a mythical animal, horn and all. Orlando, Oklahoma City and Houston own the top three picks in this year's NBA draft. There is not, and maybe never has been, anything like Holmgren: a 3-point-shooting 7-footer who handles the ball like a point guard -- OK, let's say a 2-guard -- who could play on the wing on offense and lead the league in blocked shots for the foreseeable future. Oklahoma City forward Chet Holmgren, the No. And their data has projected NBA futures with staggering accuracy. After sustaining a Lisfranc injury in his right foot during an offseason pro-am event and being ruled out for the 2022-23 season, the Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren seems to have . He didnt wow teammates with any one thing but with how he did everything well. I kept rolling my eyes. Fewer still teach them how to land. Worst case: Someone knocks Holmgren into reality, breaking a really long board in half. The Thunder went to the Western Conference finals four times with that duo and the NBA Finals once. With Larry, he helped turn the awesomely named AAU outfitGrassroots Sizzleinto a force. . 2 overall in the 2022 NBA draft out of Gonzaga, where he was a consensus All-American in his freshman season with the Bulldogs after averaging 14.1 points, 9.9 . But, he said, he's also trying to turn the situation into a "blessing.". Topps says this is the largest name, image and. Its hardly the first time that Holmgren has faced an obstruction on his path. They had T-shirts printed that read, No gym, no problem. The back half of his high school career and his freshman season at Gonzaga where he averaged 14.1 points, 9.9 rebounds and nearly 4 blocks per game were disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. and was successful. A high draft pick having to sit out his first NBA season isnt unprecedented, and in some cases it hasnt stopped players from reaching All-Star or even MVP-caliber levels. 1 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. Holmgren, who averaged 14 points, 9.9 rebounds and nearly four blocks per game at Gonzaga, is a consensus top-three pick in the draft, along with Auburn's Jabari Smith and Duke's Paolo Banchero. When he was invited to play in Jamal Crawfords CrawsOver Pro-Am, which also featured LeBron James and the 2022 No. Gonzaga's Chet Holmgren is a potential Thunder target in the NBA Draft. "I've studied my body a lot, along with people here on the medical staff. 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