<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/thunder-news-how-chet-holmgren-definitely-better-after-pounding-pavement-offseason');   ga('set', 'title', 'How Chet Holmgren is ‘definitely better’ after ‘pounding pavement’ in offseason');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0How-Chet-Holmgren-is-definitely-better-after-pounding-pavement-in-offseason0.jpg"></figure><h1>How Chet Holmgren is ‘definitely better’ after ‘pounding pavement’ in offseason</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-10T08:15:08-07:00">October 10th, 8:15am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-10T08:15:08-07:00">October 10th, 8:15am</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Oklahoma City Thunder head coach <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-mark-daigneault-speaks-thunder-centers-vocal-leadership">Mark Daigneault </a><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-mark-daigneault-speaks-thunder-centers-vocal-leadership" rel="noopener">credited Chet Holmgren with</a> being one of the Thunder’s vocal leaders, alongside Jaylin Williams, in the frontcourt last season, specifically on the defensive end of the floor. Two games into the preseason schedule, Daigneault is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7_WyDZStWs&amp;t=565s" rel="noopener">seeing the tweaks and improvements</a> Holmgren’s made offensively and in the gym. He talked about it after Oklahoma City’s 122-113 overtime loss to the Houston Rockets on Wednesday.</p><p>“His work’s shown up. He looks stronger. I think he’s playing more decisively, which I think is a combination of his emphasis on it and just the wisdom that comes from a rookie year and then some time away from the season,” Daigneault said. “So, he’s definitely better. He worked really, really hard. I give him a lot of credit for pounding the pavement the way he did, and it’s showing up in some of these reps.”</p><p>Holmgren finished with 10 points (5-for-8 from the free-throw line, including 1-for-3 from deep), six rebounds, and three blocks in 17 minutes in Oklahoma City’s preseason loss against the Rockets. He and the rest of the Thunder starters, including Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort, sat the entire second half of OKC’s overtime loss.</p><p>Gilgeous-Alexander (15 points, six assists, two rebounds, and one block) and Dort (five points, two blocks), both of whom made their preseason debut after sitting out of Monday’s exhibition against the San Antonio Spurs, were joined by Jalen Williams, Alex Caruso, and Holmgren in the Thunder’s starting lineup.</p><h2><b>Mark Daigneault speaks to Chet Holmgren’s vocal leadership</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Thunder-forward-Chet-Holmgren.jpg"><figcaption>Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>After sitting out his rookie season due to a right foot injury, Chet Holmgren had a productive 2023-24 campaign for the Oklahoma City Thunder. He averaged 16.5 points, including shooting at a 37% clip from deep, 7.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 2.3 blocks per game last season, and is now ascending to reach a new level. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-fans-confused-by-chet-holmgrens-apparent-new-jumper" rel="noopener">Holmgren even reworked his shot,</a> but it’s his verbal approach to defense that stood out to head coach Mark Daigneault last season. Still, <a href="https://x.com/jxlorenzi/status/1841542556578152660" rel="noopener">it’s a verbal tendency</a> the 2022 second-overall pick shares with Jaylin Williams and his new teammate, Isaiah Hartenstein.</p><p>“Those guys are really, really verbal players, and defensively, especially at that position, probably [have] to be the most vocal position on the court,” Daigneault said. “And all three of those guys do a great job of that. Chet [Holmgren] is always talking on the court. He’s always communicating. He’s always quarterbacking on the defensive end. J-Will is a very bold communicator in his coverage.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Asked Mark Daigneault about Chet’s growth being vocal. </p><p>“Cason Wallace is a fierce competitor, doesn’t say a word. Lu Dort is a fierce competitor, doesn’t say a word. Chet, more extroverted. </p><p>“They don’t need to be something that they’re not.”</p><p>Says all 3 centers are verbal. <a href="https://t.co/qoaq9Kp9ZI">pic.twitter.com/qoaq9Kp9ZI</a></p><p>— Joel Lorenzi (@jxlorenzi) <a href="https://twitter.com/jxlorenzi/status/1841542556578152660?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 2, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p> </p><p>On the second night of a preseason back-to-back, the Thunder will host the New Zealand Breakers in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Thursday.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

How Chet Holmgren is ‘definitely better’ after ‘pounding pavement’ in offseason

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/thunder-news-fans-confused-by-chet-holmgrens-apparent-new-jumper');   ga('set', 'title', 'Thunder fans confused by Chet Holmgren’s apparent new jumper');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Thunder-news-Fans-confused-by-Chet-Holmgrens-apparent-new-jumper.jpg"></figure><h1>Thunder fans confused by Chet Holmgren’s apparent new jumper</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-08T09:16:45-07:00">October 8th, 9:16am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-08T16:50:49-07:00">October 8th, 4:50pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>All the makings are there for the Oklahoma City Thunder to take another leap as a team during the 2024-25 season. Last year, they broke out as a contending team, but this time around, they <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-espn-analyst-drops-extremely-bold-take-for-2024-25-season">look like the favorite</a> to win the Larry O’Brien trophy. However, competing for a championship is never easy. No team is devoid of concerns, and the Thunder are no different — especially amid Chet Holmgren’s process of reworking his jumpshot.</p><p>One would think that Holmgren doesn’t need to overhaul his shot. After all, he shot 37.0 percent from three last season on a healthy 4.3 attempts per game. But Holmgren and the Thunder apparently felt the need for him to change his shooting form, and the early returns have not looked pretty.</p><p>In a video posted on X, formerly Twitter, by Joel Lorenzi of Oklahoman Sports, Holmgren <a href="https://twitter.com/jxlorenzi/status/1843436346905636931" rel="noopener">was seen hoisting up shots</a> prior to the Thunder’s preseason game against the Spurs. This then prompted fans to discuss the 22-year-old’s <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/1fym3e5/joel_lorenzi_chets_jumper_looks_different_hand/" rel="noopener">new shooting form</a>, and the overall sentiment was that Holmgren’s shot now looks more awkward than it was.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Another angle, for those curious <a href="https://t.co/fTRiBaZlxx">pic.twitter.com/fTRiBaZlxx</a></p><p>— Joel Lorenzi (@jxlorenzi) <a href="https://twitter.com/jxlorenzi/status/1843436346905636931?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 7, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“im sure there’s a good reason he changed his form but simply from an eye test standard it looks a bit less natural than last year,” Reddit user commandrr wrote.</p><p>“The hitch is awful,” user Designer_Sundae6110 commented.</p><p>“This form does not look smooth,” user ismelllikebobdole added.</p><p>Nonetheless, some Thunder fans came in and defended Holmgren for reworking his jumpshot. They thought that this decision was necessary since Holmgren’s shot was blocked more often than one would expect from a center whose listed height is 7’1″.</p><p>“Definitely looks new to him. He mentioned in an interview that he spent the entire off-season working on this new shot so that he can get it off quicker, and it’s a lot higher of a release. Last season his shot would get blocked by guys that had no business blocking that, and he’d get into a habit of pump faking before every shot [affecting] his confidence,” user Loxdnw explained.</p><p>“For a 7 footer with a probably high release point he got blocked on a lot of jumpers. This looks slower (probably because it’s still new to him) but the release point is higher than his old one and will probably be faster when he gets used to it,” user Yeah_Boiy added.</p><p>There might not be a better time for Holmgren to make such a major change; he is still young, so he can still build new muscle memories. However, the Thunder will need him to be at his best next season to contend for a title, and it remains to be seen if his new jumpshot yields similar results to last year.</p><h2><b>Chet Holmgren to become the Thunder’s full-time power forward?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/drives-against-San-Antonio-Spurs-guard-Devonte-Graham-4.jpg"><figcaption>© Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>The Thunder may have earned the number one seed in the Western Conference last season, but they had a glaring weakness for teams to exploit: rebounding. Thus, they rectified this situation by bringing Isaiah Hartenstein in on a huge free-agent deal.</p><p>Now, it’s not quite clear what starting lineup the Thunder will begin the year with. They can opt to roll with last year’s five, but with Alex Caruso <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-lu-dort-revealing-admission-about-alex-caruso">in Josh Giddey’s place</a>. But they can move Holmgren to the four as well, which would then make his game more perimeter-centric. Thus, it’s imperative that his new shooting form work out for the best especially if he moves to the four on a full-time basis.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Thunder fans confused by Chet Holmgren’s apparent new jumper

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/suns-news-kevin-durant-jalen-green-chet-holmgren');   ga('set', 'title', 'Suns’ Kevin Durant works out with Jalen Green, Chet Holmgren before 2024-25 season');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Suns-news-Kevin-Durant-works-out-with-Jalen-Green-Chet-Holmgren-before-2024-25-season.jpg"></figure><h1>Suns’ Kevin Durant works out with Jalen Green, Chet Holmgren before 2024-25 season</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-08-29T17:38:27-07:00">August 29th, 5:38pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-08-29T17:38:27-07:00">August 29th, 5:38pm</time><address><a>David Korn</a>David Korn is an MLB associate editor at ClutchPoints. He is also a producer at MLB Network Radio and covers college basketball for A10Talk. David graduated from George Washington in 2023, where he was the radio play-by-play broadcaster for their Men's and Women's Basketball teams.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Phoenix Suns superstar Kevin Durant has had himself quite the summer. Even after <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/olympics-news-kevin-durant-predicts-if-somebody-break-his-team-usa-scoring-record">becoming Team USA’s all-time leading scorer at the Olympics</a> and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/olympics-news-kevin-durant-throws-shade-dennis-schroder-after-gold-medal-win">leading the Americans to another gold medal, Durant</a> is still going all-out as he prepares for a crucial 2024-25 season with the Suns.</p><p>Video of Durant putting in work at an open run featuring some of the biggest names in basketball was posted on Thursday, and KD looks as dominant as ever.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Kevin Durant, Jalen Green, Chet Holmgren, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and Jordan Clarkson putting the work in for the upcoming season 🔥</p><p>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/swishcultures_?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@swishcultures_</a>)<a href="https://t.co/xggjZ3HUgF">pic.twitter.com/xggjZ3HUgF</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1829281168908497026?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 29, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Oklahoma City Thunder second-year star Chet Holmgren, Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green, Utah Jazz sixth man Jordan Clarkson and the Cleveland Cavaliers duo of Darius Garland and Evan Mobley all joined Durant in the open run.</p><p>In the video, Durant can be seen hitting a turnaround baseline jump shot over the 7-1 Holmgren, nailing another mid-range jumper on the move at the top of the key and working on is interior and perimeter defense.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/olympics-news-team-usa-encouraging-kevin-durant-injury-update">Durant was dealing with a left calf strain</a> before the Olympics, and while he was not limited at all in Paris and looked 100%, it is still great news to see Durant on the court and healthy.</p><h2><b>Kevin Durant’s outlook for the 2024-25 season</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Kevin-Durant-at-the-2024-Olympic-games.jpg"><figcaption>Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports.</figcaption></figure><p>Durant, who will turn 36 before the start of the regular season, showed that he is still one of the best players in the world after a dominant performance at the Olympics this summer. He scored 13.8 points per game and shot an incredibly efficient 54.0% from the field and 51.9% from three during Olympic competition while becoming the<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/olympics-news-kevin-durant-secures-olympics-first-gold-medal-win-vs-france"> first American male basketball player to earn four gold medals.</a></p><p>Durant’s best performance for Team USA came in the opening matchup against Serbia, where he came off the bench and scored 23 points, shooting a perfect 5-5 from three and 8-9 from the field.</p><p>Last season, his first full year with the Suns, Durant averaged 27.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.2 blocks per game while shooting 52.3% from the field and 41.3% from three. Despite Durant having a great individual season, the Suns did not have as much team success as they would have hoped, getting swept by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs after forming a “Big Three” of Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal.</p><p>Durant is going to need to continue producing at an All-NBA level in order for the Suns to reach their full potential. If the work he has done this summer is any indication, Durant should have no problem achieving that goal.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Suns’ Kevin Durant works out with Jalen Green, Chet Holmgren before 2024-25 season

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/thunder-news-chet-holmgren-hurt-josh-giddey-trade');   ga('set', 'title', 'Thunder’s Chet Holmgren sounds off on being ‘f*****g hurt’ by Josh Giddey trade');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/08-25-24-chet-featured.jpg"></figure><h1>Thunder’s Chet Holmgren sounds off on being ‘f*****g hurt’ by Josh Giddey trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-08-25T10:37:20-07:00">August 25th, 10:37am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-08-25T10:37:20-07:00">August 25th, 10:37am</time><address><a>David Korn</a>David Korn is an MLB associate editor at ClutchPoints. He is also a producer at MLB Network Radio and covers college basketball for A10Talk. David graduated from George Washington in 2023, where he was the radio play-by-play broadcaster for their Men's and Women's Basketball teams.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Earlier this offseason, the Oklahoma City Thunder <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-news-bulls-thunder-alex-caruso-josh-giddey-trade">traded Josh Giddey to the Chicago Bulls for Alex Caruso.</a> While many lauded the deal and how it would improve the Thunder’s defense, not everyone was initially thrilled with the decision.</p><p>Thunder star Chet Holmgren <a href="https://youtu.be/HxdLCdrDYZk" rel="noopener">spoke about the trade</a> that sent Giddey to the Bulls in an interview on “Podcast P with Paul George.”</p><p>“Man I was f*cking hurt when I saw that that Josh Giddey is not going to be on our team anymore,” Holmgren said. “We all rock with him, that’s our dog, still is. He’s going to he’s going to go do great things in Chicago so we’re excited for him.”</p><p>“We’re also excited to have AC on our team now too like you said he’s a great defender, he makes shots, he always makes winning plays, makes the right plays, that’s the type of dude you want to play with,” Holmgren continued.</p><h2><b>Why the Thunder traded Josh Giddey</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/08-25-24-chet-giddey-iamge.jpg"><figcaption>© Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>While it makes sense on a personal level that Holmgren was upset about the trade, it was clear that the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-josh-giddey-trade-explanation-sam-presti">Thunder could not reach their full potential with Giddey</a> playing major minutes. While Giddey is an exceptional playmaker at 6-8, he needed the ball in his hands to be effective and struggled on the defensive end. There were too many mouths to feed other than Giddey, like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams. Giddey, who shot just 33.7% from three on 3.0 attempts per game, just does not have a good enough perimeter game to be a viable off-ball option.</p><p>The player they got back for Giddey, Caruso, is the complete opposite. Caruso has shown that he can be an elite role player on a championship team, like he was for the Los Angeles Lakers during their run to the NBA title in 2019-20. Caruso is an elite defender, making the All-Defensive First Team in 2022-23 and the All-Defensive Second Team in 2023-24 and is more-than comfortable taking a back set on the offensive end as a spot-up shooter and off-ball cutter.</p><p>The Thunder now have one of the best defensive units in the NBA, with Caruso, Holmgren and Luguentz Dort all having All-Defensive team potential and Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams being plus defenders in their own right.</p><p>While Holmgren and the Thunder may miss Giddey as a teammate, it’s clear that trading him away for Caruso raised the Thunder’s ceiling and got them closer to becoming true championship contenders.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Thunder’s Chet Holmgren sounds off on being ‘f*****g hurt’ by Josh Giddey trade

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/thunder-news-chet-holmgren-welcome-to-the-nba-moment');   ga('set', 'title', 'Chet Holmgren reveals his ‘Welcome to the NBA’ moment');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Chet-Holmgren-reveals-his-Welcome-to-the-NBA-moment.jpg"></figure><h1>Chet Holmgren reveals his ‘Welcome to the NBA’ moment</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-08-20T17:12:51-07:00">August 20th, 5:12pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-08-20T17:12:51-07:00">August 20th, 5:12pm</time><address><a>Nathan Yasis</a>Nathan Yasis is a sports writer for ClutchPoints, specializing in the NBA.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>In a rare moment of offseason downtime, Oklahoma City Thunder rookie standout Chet Holmgren appeared on Paul George’s “Podcast P” to dive into a wide range of basketball discussions.</p><p>The 22-year-old is coming off an impressive rookie season and is eager to continue that momentum into the next year.</p><h2><b>Chet Holmgren’s “Welcome to the NBA” moment</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Chet-Holmgren-getting-dunked-on-by-Andre-Drummond.jpg"><figcaption>Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Holmgren shared his “welcome to the NBA” moment in the podcast’s most recent episode.</p><p>“I got stripped by [Andre] Drummond and then he made me fall on the fast break, in my first game,” said the Thunder rookie.</p><p>Holmgren chuckled about the situation, but no one enjoys being crossed over like that. Being a tall, slender seven-footer only made the moment look even more awkward and exaggerated.</p><p>“I was so salty after the game too,” he continued.</p><p>Andre Drummond <a href="https://www.twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1825997465528709612" rel="noopener">provided a reality check</a> to the rookie in October, first slamming a dunk over him in the paint. On the next possession, Drummond swiped the ball from Holmgren near the top of the key, then drove coast-to-coast, crossing him over and leaving him on the floor in what became one of the Bulls’ highlight reel moments of the season.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">“I got stripped by [Andre] Drummond and then he made me fall on the fast break, in my first game… I was so salty after the game too.” </p><p>Chet Holmgren tells Paul George about his ‘Welcome to the NBA’ moment 😅</p><p>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/PodcastPShow?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PodcastPShow</a>)<a href="https://t.co/kh9tMqF76z">pic.twitter.com/kh9tMqF76z</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1825997465528709612?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 20, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2><b>Impressive rookie season for the young Thunder star</b></h2><p>While his performance in his first NBA game might seem modest compared to the hype he’s garnered over the years, it actually fits perfectly with his developmental trajectory. He recorded 11 points, four rebounds, and three assists in the victory.</p><p>Though Holmgren shows considerable promise, he’s still adjusting to the NBA’s physicality and pace. His encounter with Drummond underscores the typical hurdles rookies like himself encounter during their transition into professional basketball.</p><p>Chet Holmgren’s rookie season, technically his second in the NBA due to missing his initial season with an injury, was highly impressive. He averaged over 16 points per game with excellent shooting efficiency and recorded more than two blocks per game.</p><h2><b>The Victory Wembanyama, Chet Holmgren rivalry</b></h2><p>If Victor Wembanyama hadn’t been in the running, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-chet-holmgren-breaks-silence-rookie-of-the-year-victor-wembanyama">Holmgren would likely have dominated</a> the Rookie of the Year race. Both Holmgren and Wembanyama are among the most thrilling young defenders to join the NBA since Hakeem Olajuwon.</p><p>According to most hoop fans, the San Antonio Spurs standout outperformed his peer and capped off his remarkable season by winning the Rookie of the Year award. With the dramatic narratives surrounding both players in their rookie seasons, many are now eager to see the next major rivalry in the NBA.</p><p>The<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-chet-holmgren-nsfw-take-facing-victor-wembanyama"> Chet vs. Wemby rivalry</a> has a classic feel to it, reminiscent of legendary matchups like Larry Bird vs. Magic Johnson in the 80s and Hakeem Olajuwon vs. Shaquille O’Neal in the 90s.</p><p>Although both emerging stars have a way to go before their duels can rival those of their Hall of Fame counterparts, their clashes already possess a unique and captivating appeal.</p><p>Holmgren and Wembanyama’s history stretches back well before they were drafted into the NBA. Yet, neither could have anticipated the level of attention and excitement surrounding their professional debut.</p><p>The term “beef” might be a trendy way to describe their exciting rivalry, but Holmgren doesn’t see it the same way.</p><p>“People be like, ‘Y’all got beef?’ I’m like, ‘Beef?’ We’re out there competing,” Holmgren also said in the podcast.</p><p>Despite the buzz around their encounters, there hasn’t been any real animosity between the two big men during their games.</p><p>With a successful offseason, the Thunder are considered strong contenders, entering the early phase of their championship pursuit, led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Holmgren, and Jalen Williams.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Chet Holmgren reveals his ‘Welcome to the NBA’ moment

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/thunder-news-chet-holmgren-nsfw-take-facing-victor-wembanyama');   ga('set', 'title', 'Thunder star Chet Holmgren’s NSFW take on facing Victor Wembanyama');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Thunder-news-Chet-Holmgrens-NSFW-take-on-facing-Victor-Wembanyama.jpg"></figure><h1>Thunder star Chet Holmgren’s NSFW take on facing Victor Wembanyama</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-08-19T09:06:03-07:00">August 19th, 9:06am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-08-19T09:06:03-07:00">August 19th, 9:06am</time><address><a>Rexwell Villas</a>Rexwell Villas is an experienced sports writer covering a variety of sports, including the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and college football. He's a Communications Arts graduate from the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines, and he claims to have JR Smith's conscience with his shot selection. He has won a basketball, a baseball, and a football championship in fantasy all within a year.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>As two of the tallest (and youngest) players in the WNBA, Oklahoma City Thunder star Chet Holmgren and San Antonio Spurs super unicorn Victor Wembanyama <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/clippers-news-paul-george-victor-wembanyama-chet-holmgren-rookie-of-the-year-debate">always get mentioned in the same sentence</a>. They have become rivals in the eyes of many basketball fans.</p><p>But to others, they feel as though Holmgren and Wembanyama hate each other — a notion that the former Gonzaga Bulldogs star <a href="https://x.com/PodcastPShow/status/1825533193493319808" rel="noopener">tried to demystify</a> during a recent appearance on Philadelphia Philadelphia forward Paul George’s show, Podcast P with Paul George.</p><p>“I would just say, us being competitors, Holmgren said when asked by George about the presence of “smoke” between the two big men.</p><p>“We played against each other before we were even in the NBA. People would be like, ‘Y’all got beef?’ I’m like ‘Beef?’ We’re out there competing, but beef, like beef means like when I see you, like we’re fighting. You know what I mean?”</p><p>For Holmgren, branding his matchup against Wembanyama with anything that connotes hatred is just wrong and badly misinterprets the concept of competing.</p><p>“Why do I got beef with him? I honestly don’t even know the guy. Like we just play basketball against each other. As competitors, neither of us wanna lose and neither of us wanna like, just let the other person get a bucket or anything. So, you know, we’re always gonna compete and if people take it as we got beef, those people don’t really understand competing, I guess.”</p><p>The Thunder center also got candid about what he’s learned so far from playing against Wembanyama.</p><p>I learned from playing against every single matchup that I play against,” Holmgren said. “You know, he’s no different. Oh, he is different. Motherf****r is 7’5″. Some things that work on somebody that’s 6’9″, doesn’t work on. I don’t know. Do you know what I mean?”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"We played against each other before we were even in the NBA. People will be like, 'Y'all got beef?' I'm like, beef? … He's no different, well he is different motherf*cker is 7'5"."</p><p>Chet Holmgren on Wemby 🗣️</p><p>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/PodcastPShow?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PodcastPShow</a>)<a href="https://t.co/KEs8jp1pjG">pic.twitter.com/KEs8jp1pjG</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1825548425435418943?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 19, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2><b>Thunder-Spurs matchups in 2023-24 NBA season</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Chet-Holmgren-and-Victor-Wembanyama-going-up-against-each-other-during-a-Thunder-Spurs-game.jpg"><figcaption>Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>The 2023-24 NBA season is and will be remembered for a lot of things, including, of course, the fact that it was the first campaign that featrured both Holmgren and Wembanyama. Holmgren entered the NBA a year earlier than Wembanyama, but he was not able to see action with the Thunder in the 2022-23 season because of a foot injury.</p><p>Last season, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/spurs-news-victor-wembanyama-wins-battle-but-chet-holmgren-wins-war-highlight-filled-showdown">Thunder and the Spurs faced off four times</a>, but only three of those matchups had both Holmgren and Wembanyama active. In those three contests, the Thunder won twice. Holmgren averaged 16.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.0 steal, and 1.7 blocks against Wembanyama and the Spurs.</p><p>On the flip side, Wembanyama had better averages than Holmgren, <a href="https://www.landofbasketball.com/games_between/chet_holmgren_vs_victor_wembanyama.htm" rel="noopener">racking up 20.0 points</a>, 13.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.0 steals, and 3.7 blocks in the three games he faced off against the Thunder. Of course, Wembanyama had to do more than Holmgren, who was surrounded by a deeper and better supporting cast.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Thunder star Chet Holmgren’s NSFW take on facing Victor Wembanyama

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/lakers-news-did-chet-holmgren-take-shot-at-jaylen-brown-with-bronny-james-praise');   ga('set', 'title', 'Did Chet Holmgren just take a shot at Jaylen Brown with Bronny James praise?');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Lakers-news-Did-Chet-Holmgren-just-take-a-shot-at-Jaylen-Brown-with-Bronny-James-praise.jpg"></figure><h1>Did Chet Holmgren just take a shot at Jaylen Brown with Bronny James praise?</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-07-19T00:08:45-07:00">July 19th, 12:08am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-07-19T07:55:08-07:00">July 19th, 7:55am</time><address><a>Alex House</a>Alex House is a sports journalist who covers the NFL, NBA, and MLB for ClutchPoints. He grew up in a New York sports-heavy region in Connecticut and earned his journalism degree at the University of Rhode Island. His in-depth knowledge of two of the most passionate and raucous fan bases in the country gives him a truly unique writing voice.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Many athletes use any critical remark as bulletin material to drive them forward in their career. While no one still knows for sure what NBA Finals MVP Jaylen Brown said about Bronny James, the Los Angeles Lakers rookie has noticeably improved since the Boston Celtics star’s <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-nba-fans-jaylen-brown-shocking-bronny-james-allegation">alleged remarks</a> during Monday’s Summer League game.</p><p>Lip readers concluded that Brown, while speaking to girlfriend and former Chicago Sky player Kysre Gondrezick, said “I don’t think Bronny is a pro.” The 27-year-old did not acknowledge the purported statement but <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-news-jaylen-brown-save-face-alleged-bronny-james-diss">took to social media</a> to endorse both LeBron and Bronny James.</p><p>In the Lakers’ last two Summer League contests, the No. 55 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft has drastically improved. After struggling mightily to start his professional career, James finally flashed an effective offensive game. He started off hot in Wednesday’s win against the Atlanta Hawks and posted his most complete showing on Thursday night.</p><p>The 19-year-old scored 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting, grabbed five rebounds and dished out three assists in LA’s 93-89 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers. The efficient performance <a href="https://x.com/ChetHolmgren/status/1814140756346724611" rel="noopener">prompted a response</a> from Oklahoma City Thunder forward/center Chet Holmgren.</p><p>“Looked like a pro,” the 2024 All-Rookie First-Team selection said on X, formerly Twitter, when replying to a post of James’ stat line. Naturally, most fans are going to interpret his words as a jab to Brown. However, Holmgren quickly <a href="https://x.com/ChetHolmgren/status/1814145468898918681" rel="noopener">dispelled that notion</a> with a simple “no” retort when someone directly asked if he was throwing shade at the guard.</p><p>One has to wonder why he chose those exact words, though, if he was not intending to troll him. Perhaps Holmgren was referring to all who doubt Bronny James’ NBA potential, but if Brown did express clear skepticism in the video, then he would also be among that group, no? In any case, Chet Holmgren is a Bronny believer.</p><h2><b>Lakers’ Bronny James is making strides after rough start</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Bronny-James-controls-the-ball-in-Summer-League-game-1.jpg"><figcaption>Lucas Peltier-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>The narrative surrounding James throughout his NBA career and especially during the 2024-25 campaign will be “is he wrongly taking up a roster spot because of his family name?” Many current and former players have <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-shaquille-oneal-advice-bronny-james-summer-league">come to his defense</a>, brushing off concerns about his offensive skill set and ceiling. 25 points across two Summer League games is not enough to quiet the criticism of James’ insufficient production, but it does <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-bronny-james-has-fans-going-bonkers-solid-game-cavs">show obvious growth</a>.</p><p>Considering the former USC guard underwent a serious health incident less than a year ago, it is certainly possible that he is still looking to regain his rhythm. While shooting has long been a concern, there are flashes of a competent offensive talent. James displayed impressive touch at the basket and footwork versus the Cavs. Most importantly, he looked comfortable on the court.</p><p>There is still a long way to go, but Bronny James is encouraging Lakers fans with the progress he is making. Chet Holmgren, who quickly assimilated into the Thunder’s system after missing the entire 2022-23 season with a right foot injury, definitely likes what he is now seeing from the rookie.</p><p>It should be noted, however, that Jaylen Brown simply shared a viewpoint in a casual conversation without knowing he was on camera. He did not actively skewer James. While there are those who spew vitriol at the prospect, as is often the case on social media regardless of the subject in question, conversations about his ability are inevitable.</p><p>James is adamant about ignoring the chatter as best he can, and maybe the rest of the NBA world can follow suit. Otherwise, the number of strong reactions from both sides of the aisle will leave everyone exhausted before next season even begins.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Did Chet Holmgren just take a shot at Jaylen Brown with Bronny James praise?

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/thunder-news-chet-holmgren-breaks-silence-rookie-of-the-year-victor-wembanyama');   ga('set', 'title', 'Chet Holmgren breaks silence on losing Rookie of Year to Victor Wembanyama');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Chet-Holmgren-breaks-silence-on-losing-Rookie-of-Year-to-Victor-Wembanyama.jpg"></figure><h1>Chet Holmgren breaks silence on losing Rookie of Year to Victor Wembanyama</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-07-17T17:49:17-07:00">July 17th, 5:49pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-07-17T17:50:32-07:00">July 17th, 5:50pm</time><address><a>Nathan Yasis</a>Nathan Yasis is a sports writer for ClutchPoints, specializing in the NBA.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The San Antonio Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama earned the 2024 NBA Rookie of the Year title, while Chet Holmgren from the Oklahoma City Thunder also delivered an impressive debut season.</p><p>On the Road Trippin’ podcast, Holmgren was asked if he thought he deserved the Rookie of the Year award over Wembanyama, <a href="https://www.twitter.com/saspurscentral/status/1813595642427789580?s=46&amp;t=b4g2jNrfMmOV0ZTgd3eYaQ" rel="noopener">considering his situation</a> in Oklahoma City.</p><p>“It just comes down to who has more voters that believe in their side of the criteria, I guess,” said the Thunder rookie.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Chet Holmgren speaks on if he thought he should’ve won ROTY over Victor Wembanyama:</p><p>“I don’t think Wemby was unfair in winning rookie of the year.”</p><p>🎥:<a href="https://twitter.com/RoadTrippinPod?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RoadTrippinPod</a> <a href="https://t.co/KuULgfzANo">pic.twitter.com/KuULgfzANo</a></p><p>— Spurs Central (@SASpursCentral) <a href="https://twitter.com/SASpursCentral/status/1813595642427789580?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 17, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Wembanyama secured the Rookie of the Year award taking all 99 first place votes, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-media-poll-2023-24-rookie-of-the-year-victor-wembanyama-chet-holmgren">surpassing Holmgren in the polls</a>.</p><h2><b>Chet Holmgren’s feelings about Victor Wembanyama winning Rookie of the Year</b></h2><p>“I don’t think Wemby was unfair in winning Rookie of the Year or anything. Like I mean, all credit to him for a great season and everything. And you know, we’re not rookies anymore.” he continued.</p><p>However, according to the Thunder center, the conditions between him and Wemby were different and their situations were not comparable.</p><p>“Our situations were different. Like polar opposites,” said Holmgren.</p><p>The Thunder clinched the top spot in the Western Conference and began their first playoff run since the 2020 bubble.While Wembanyama and the Spurs were 22-60 and never had a chance to even crack the playoffs.</p><p>“You can come up with 50 pros and cons for each of us on things outside of statistics. Just completely random things like who is on our team, what we are playing for, how much attention is placed on us. You can come up with a million things for each of us to try to skew decisions.”</p><h2>Different positions for the Spurs and the Thunder</h2><p>Wembanyama ended the season with averages of 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and a league-leading 3.6 blocks per game. Meanwhile, Holmgren had an impressive 16.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 2.3 blocks per game, starting all 82 games for a top seeded Thunder.</p><p>Despite Wembanyama thriving as the primary option on a struggling team, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-chet-holmgren-rookie-of-the-year-victor-wembanyama">Holmgren played alongside</a> All-NBA first-teamer Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and rising star Jalen Williams, who took more shots than him in the Thunder’s offense. Despite these differences in circumstances, their statistical outputs were relatively close.</p><p>While it’s difficult to argue that Victor Wembanyama didn’t deserve the award given his incredible production, many believe Holmgren was unjustly overlooked. Despite Chet Holmgren’s slightly lower stats, his contributions led to the young Thunder team’s success, whereas Wembanyama’s impressive numbers came in a season where San Antonio won only 22 games.</p><p>“You can come up with 50 pros and cons for each of us on things outside of statistics. Completely random things from who’s on our team, what we’re playing for, what amount of attention is placed on us,” added Holmgren</p><h2><b>Holmgren in head-to-heads against Wembanyama</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Chet-Holmgren-defending-Victor-Wembanyama.jpg"><figcaption>Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Additionally, in games against Wembanyama’s Spurs, Chet consistently excelled, posting averages of 14.5 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.3 blocks on 48.8 percent shooting over four matchups. Oklahoma City secured a 3-1 advantage in the season series.</p><p>“We can come up with a million different things for each of us as to try and skew decisions. At the end of the day, what is the criteria? This is my thing with all NBA awards, what is the criteria. It’s all in the eyes of the beholder.”</p><p>Chet Holmgren, drafted as the No. 2 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, missed his actual rookie season due to a Lisfranc injury sustained in a summer Pro-Am game.</p><p>Meanwhile, Victor Wembanyama, widely regarded as the most hyped draft prospect since LeBron James, was selected first overall in the previous year’s draft by the San Antonio Spurs.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Chet Holmgren breaks silence on losing Rookie of Year to Victor Wembanyama

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/thunder-news-chet-holmgren-savagely-mocks-heat-fans-miami');   ga('set', 'title', 'Chet Holmgren savagely mocks Heat fans with reason he loves playing in Miami');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Chet-Holmgren-savagely-mocks-Heat-fans-with-reason-he-loves-playing-in-Miami.jpg"></figure><h1>Chet Holmgren savagely mocks Heat fans with reason he loves playing in Miami</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-07-17T11:41:04-07:00">July 17th, 11:41am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-07-17T11:41:04-07:00">July 17th, 11:41am</time><address><a>Preston Byers</a>Preston Byers is an experienced writer and journalist who currently serves as an associate editor for ClutchPoints and as a staff writer at The Vindicator and Tribune Chronicle, where he covers sports in the Mahoning Valley. Previously, Preston worked as an associate editor for Dot Esports and a site expert for FanSided's Union and Blue.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-chet-holmgren-nba-playoffs">Chet Holmgren is quite</a> fond of Miami. While that is not an unpopular opinion of NBA players, the Oklahoma City Thunder star has a different reason to enjoy playing on the road <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/heat-news-gm-makes-eye-opening-comments-jimmy-butlers-lack-contract-extension">against the Miami Heat</a>.</p><p>While on the “Road Trippin'” podcast with Richard Jefferson, Channing Frye, and Allie Clifton, Holmgren <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzuZMo82Trs&amp;t=1571s" rel="noopener">named the</a> Heat’s arena as one of his top three road arenas.</p><p>“I like Miami, because it’s just, like, empty,” Holmgren said as Jefferson, Clifton, and Frye erupted with laughter.</p><p>“We know what you mean, because they come in late,” Frye said, reassuring Holmgren.</p><p>Holmgren commented that Miami’s arena is “like a drunk…”</p><p>“Oh, it’s the best,” said Frye, who played 14 seasons in the NBA. “First quarter, don’t worry about that first quarter.”</p><p>“So really as the away team,” Holmgren replied, “you just have to build that lead in the first three quarters and then it just stays quiet for the fourth.”</p><p>Holmgren said his top three road arenas, in no specific order, are the Kaseya Center (Miami), Chase Center (Golden State), and the Target Center (Minnesota). Notably, Holmgren is a native of Minneapolis.</p><figure class="op-interactive"></figure><h2><b>Why are Miami Heat fans late?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Chet-in-Miami.jpg"></figure><p>While it’s not something that really gets much attention during the regular season since crowds vary in size and enthusiasm across the NBA from October to April, the Miami Heat’s home crowd has drawn the ire of opposing fans and media members for years. Although when gathered together in full, the white-shirt-wearing <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/heat-news-did-miami-just-unearth-the-next-undrafted-heat-culture-gem">fans in Miami</a> can be quite loud, they have been called out on multiple occasions for arriving late to games.</p><p>Even Jimmy Butler, the Heat’s star player, wants the fans to show up a little earlier.</p><p>“The worst part, to me, our fans never show up on time,” Butler said in an interview with Complex last month. “They never show up on time. I was like, `Damn, I want it to be rocking from like from the jump ball. Fans, come on, we need y’all.”‘</p><p>Media members have also voiced their displeasure with the sometimes sparse stands.</p><p>“I’m just a little disappointed in the fanbase of the Miami Heat,” Kendrick Perkins said at halftime of a lose-or-go-home Play-In game in April between the Heat and Chicago Bulls. “It’s too many open seats in there.”</p><p>“That’s not a great fanbase, at all,” Michael Wilbon responded. “It hasn’t been. They’re frontrunners. They’re frontrunners.”</p><p>There have been many excuses given for why the Heat fans show up late, from poor parking layouts to traffic, which both seem like plausible reasons for any fanbase to be a tad late. There could also be the excuse that it’s Miami, one of the most exciting and vibrant cities in the world. The Heat have been wildly successful despite their tardy fans, who may just be enjoying a few extra minutes of sunshine and South Florida excitement before entering the Kaseya Center for a Heat game.</p><p>Either way, it hasn’t had much effect on the Heat’s winning at home. While the team did not perform especially well this past season at home, Miami has consistently been one of the better home-record teams in the Eastern Conference over the past few years. In 2021-22, when the team finished with the best record in the Eastern Conference, they also boasted the best home record in the conference (29-12).</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Chet Holmgren savagely mocks Heat fans with reason he loves playing in Miami

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/thunder-news-chet-holmgren-reaction-josh-giddey-bulls-trade');   ga('set', 'title', 'Thunder star Chet Holmgren’s reaction to Josh Giddey-Bulls trade');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Thunder-news-Chet-Holmgrens-reaction-to-Josh-Giddey-Bulls-trade.jpg"></figure><h1>Thunder star Chet Holmgren’s reaction to Josh Giddey-Bulls trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-06-21T01:17:31-07:00">June 21st, 1:17am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-06-21T01:26:13-07:00">June 21st, 1:26am</time><address><a>Alex House</a>Alex House is a sports journalist who covers the NFL, NBA, and MLB for ClutchPoints. He grew up in a New York sports-heavy region in Connecticut and earned his journalism degree at the University of Rhode Island. His in-depth knowledge of two of the most passionate and raucous fan bases in the country gives him a truly unique writing voice.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Oklahoma City Thunder fans know that general manager Sam Presti always has a plan up his sleeve, but most did not expect Tuesday’s bombshell move. While the focus has aptly been on the team’s size deficiencies, an impactful two-way guard is incredibly valuable in the modern NBA.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-news-bulls-thunder-alex-caruso-josh-giddey-trade">The Thunder acquired a player</a> who can help them advance<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-okc-latest-2025-nba-finals-odds-alex-caruso-josh-giddey-trade-bulls"> closer towards their first championship</a> in franchise history, but in order to do so, they are parting with a promising, homegrown talent. OKC is sending Josh Giddey to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for Alex Caruso, producing a plethora of wild reactions from the basketball-watching public.</p><p>Giddey’s now-former teammates are still processing the news. Chet Holmgren is getting particularly<a href="https://x.com/ChetHolmgren/status/1803926730845098260"> nostalgic in his unofficial farewell</a> to the Australian playmaker.</p><p>He quote tweeted a post that Giddey originally made in 2022, which features an image of himself and a recently drafted Holmgren playing in a Summer League game. The Thunder center added heart emojis in the team’s colors and a crossed fingers emoji. The downside to having a young roster that contains a similar developmental timetable is that goodbyes can be especially difficult.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="art">💙🤍🧡🤞🏼 <a href="https://t.co/X7TCLbfjer">https://t.co/X7TCLbfjer</a></p><p>— chet holmgren (@ChetHolmgren) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChetHolmgren/status/1803926730845098260?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 20, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2><b>Thunder focus on the present and filling a key need</b></h2><p>Oklahoma City made remarkable strides this year, and although<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-sam-presti-gets-brutally-honest-josh-giddeys-disappointing-season"> Josh Giddey faded into the background</a> a bit, he will always be one of the building blocks of a momentous turnaround. The No. 6 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft averaged 13.9 points on 46.4 percent shooting with 7.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists in 210 regular season games for the team.</p><p>Despite shooting just 33.7 percent from 3-point range last season (did go up from 2022-23), Giddey still oozes plenty of potential. Though, with Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren both being budding stars, his offensive prowess is not as valuable as it was initially. Instead, Presti is looking to add a crucial championship ingredient to his impressive cupboard– a 3-and-D guy.</p><p>Alex Caruso is coming off the best offensive season of his seven-year NBA career, scoring 10.1 points per game while also knocking down 40.8 percent of his attempts from downtown. He was forced to carry more responsibilities, as the Bulls continued to be decimated by injuries in their backcourt. While DeMar DeRozan and Coby White led the way, the 30-year-old arguably served as the glue of this ailing franchise, holding it together long enough for Chicago to maintain its annual and uninspiring NBA Play-In Tournament status.</p><p>Management valued Caruso so much that it reportedly<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-bulls-passed-juicy-alex-caruso-trade-offers-deadline"> refused to trade him</a> for a top-10 draft selection before finding a trade package to its liking in the form of 21-year-old Josh Giddey.</p><p>Caruso remains a high-quality defender who recorded 1.7 steals per contest and is always aggressive on the ball. Even more important than being a reliable perimeter threat and All-Defensive Second-Team selection (First Team in 2023), the 2023-24 NBA Hustle Award winner possesses the ever-important intangibles the Thunder desire.</p><h2><b>Alex Caruso, Josh Giddey can each help their new teams</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Alex-Caruso-stays-on-top-of-Jalen-Brunson.jpg"><figcaption>David Banks-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Caruso knows what it takes to reach the NBA apex, playing a role in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 2020 championship run. His experience and leadership can possibly enable OKC to leap the other contenders in the Western Conference. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/grading-bulls-thunder-blockbuster-trade-involving-josh-giddey-alex-caruso">Adding a veteran with a ring</a> to a No. 1 seed can produce scintillating results for the hungry franchise, and its equally ravenous fandom.</p><p>One cannot overlook the positive effect Josh Giddey can have on the Bulls in the long term, however. He can grow alongside White and be an instrumental component of another rebuild. Chicago is a more arduous project, to be sure, but this guard can potentially be part of the long-awaited solution.</p><p>Although Alex Caruso will probably win over his new Thunder teammates with his high motor, defensive intensity and smooth shooting stroke, Giddey’s absence is clearly being felt. Chet Holmgren seems to be deeply appreciative of the time he shared with the crafty passer in Oklahoma City.</p><p>Their NBA journeys are headed on different paths, but they can always reminisce about their days as wide-eyed NBA fledglings.</p><p> </p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Thunder star Chet Holmgren’s reaction to Josh Giddey-Bulls trade

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/thunder-news-chet-holmgren-nba-playoffs');   ga('set', 'title', 'Thunder star Chet Holmgren’s eye-opening lesson from first NBA playoffs');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Chet-Holmgrens-eye-opening-lesson-from-first-NBA-playoffs.jpg"></figure><h1>Thunder star Chet Holmgren’s eye-opening lesson from first NBA playoffs</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-05-19T11:51:44-07:00">May 19th, 11:51am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-05-19T11:51:44-07:00">May 19th, 11:51am</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/joey.mistretta/" rel="facebook">Joey Mistretta</a>Joey Mistretta is a Dallas Mavericks beat reporter and lead MLB editor for ClutchPoints. He is originally from a small town in Southern California. Mistretta graduated college with a degree in broadcast journalism from Biola University.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-most-to-blame-for-season-ending-game-6-loss-to-mavericks">defeated</a> the Oklahoma City Thunder 117-116 in Game 6 of the Western Conference Semifinals to clinch a series victory. Many players on the Thunder experienced the NBA playoffs for the first time in 2024. Chet Holmgren was among the players to make his NBA postseason debut.</p><p>Before Game 6, Holmgren revealed what lessons he’s learned for his first NBA playoff experience.</p><p>“I wouldn’t say it’s any one single thing,” Holmgren told reporters on Saturday after the Thunder’s shoot-around. “I’ve definitely learned that nothing is guaranteed. Anything can happen. A single call can change the course of your season. A single step, twisted ankle, single missed shot, single offensive rebound. You really gotta go out there, give it your all. Make sure that those singular plays kind of go in your direction.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">I asked Chet Holmgren what he’s learned from his first <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBAPlayoffs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBAPlayoffs</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Thunder?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Thunder</a> <a href="https://t.co/UpcBQiRWCu">pic.twitter.com/UpcBQiRWCu</a></p><p>— Joey Mistretta (@JoeyMistretta_) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeyMistretta_/status/1791877747058282994?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 18, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Holmgren performed well in his rookie season. In fact, he probably would have won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award in almost any other campaign. Of course, Victor Wembanyama cruised to winning the NBA Rookie of the Year Award given his outstanding season. Nevertheless, Holmgren finished second in voting and played a pivotal role in Oklahoma City’s success.</p><h2><b>Chet Holmgren’s first NBA playoff appearance draws Mark Daigneault take</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Chet-Holmgren-dribbles-the-ball-up-the-court.jpg"><figcaption>Scott Kinser-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>The Thunder feature a young core of players. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished second in NBA MVP voting. Jalen Williams looks like a future star.</p><p>And Chet Holmgren is going to be one of the better big men in the league for years to come. Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault addressed Holmgren’s first appearance in the NBA playoffs before Game 6.</p><p>“Great, these guys are awesome,” Daigneault said. “They’re leaning into it. We don’t sit here and try to pretend that we’ve been here 10 times. We understand this is our first run together. But at the end of the day, the guys are growing throughout the experiences. I think we’ve gained a lot of confidence over the course of this time… He’s (Holmgren) an example of that. The playoffs are tough, you’re playing against the best teams. High stakes over and over and over again.</p><p>“So it’s not smooth-sailing for any player or any team. I think our guys understand that. We’ve got hoopers. We’ve got a resilient group of guys that are excited to play, he’s excited to play.”</p><p>The future is bright for the Thunder. However, the Mavericks are led by Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic. Both players are not only superstars, but they feature more than enough postseason experience.</p><p>In the end, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-kyrie-irving-thunder-game-6-nba-playoffs">Mavs spoke positively of the Thunder</a>. It appears that both teams respect one another following such a hard-fought series.</p><h2><b>Holmgren’s performance in Thunder-Mavericks series</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Chet-Holmgren-reacts-during-Thunder-Mavericks-game.jpg"><figcaption>Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Holmgren had some big moments in the Western Conference Semifinals. He averaged 15.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per outing in the series. Oklahoma City would have certainly liked to see Holmgren contribute more in the rebounding department. Still, the Thunder rookie had a respectable postseason overall.</p><p>Following Game 6, Holmgren addressed the possibility of using the loss to the Mavericks as motivation moving forward in his career, quote via ClutchPoints.</p><p>“I’m definitely gonna remember it,” Holmgren said. “It’s hard to tell what you remember more, the wins or the losses. But this definitely stings, it doesn’t feel great. It’s definitely kind of a driving force to not want to feel this feeling again. Nobody wins 12 straight championships, so the chances that I’m gonna feel this at some point again is definitely there, but I’m going to do everything in my power to avoid this feeling again.”</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Thunder star Chet Holmgren’s eye-opening lesson from first NBA playoffs

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/thunder-news-how-jayson-tatum-knew-chet-holmgren-dominate-before-nba-start');   ga('set', 'title', 'How Jayson Tatum knew Thunder’s Chet Holmgren would dominate before NBA start');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Thunder-news-How-Jayson-Tatum-knew-Chet-Holmgren-was-going-to-dominate-before-NBA-career-even-started.jpg"></figure><h1>How Jayson Tatum knew Thunder’s Chet Holmgren would dominate before NBA start</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-05-15T15:35:50-07:00">May 15th, 3:35pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-05-15T15:35:50-07:00">May 15th, 3:35pm</time><address><a>Rexwell Villas</a>Rexwell Villas is an experienced sports writer covering a variety of sports, including the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and college football. He's a Communications Arts graduate from the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines, and he claims to have JR Smith's conscience with his shot selection. He has won a basketball, a baseball, and a football championship in fantasy all within a year.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>In just his first playing season in the NBA, Chet Holmgren has already <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-thunder-chet-holmgren-luka-doncic-nba-playoffs">become a key asset</a> for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Much was expected of him by OKC and its fans after the franchise selected him second overall in the 2022 NBA Draft — just behind Paolo Banchero who went to the Orlando Magic. But his first start in the league took a long time to happen after he suffered a serious foot injury just before the 2022-23 NBA season.</p><p>Still, Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum knew at that time that Holmgren was <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/40142373/how-chet-holmgren-became-perfect-fit-sga-okc-team-built-dynasty" rel="noopener">going to be special</a> in the pros.</p><p>“I remember telling Drew I liked him because he wasn’t scared,” Tatum said recalling that time when saw a pre-NBA Holmgren alongside him and other NBA stars during training under Drew Hanlan (h/t Ramona Shelburne of ESPN).</p><p>“Yeah, he was skinny. But he was going right back at dudes. I respected that,” Tatum added.</p><p>The wait for his NBA debut must be all worth it for the Thunder, though, as the former Gonzaga Bulldogs star has proven himself as an elite weapon for the team on both ends of the floor. Holmgren doesn’t have the chiseled physique that other big men in the NBA have, but he can still hold his own on the court.</p><p>In his rookie season in the league, Chet Holmgren averaged 16.5 points and 7.9 rebounds while shooting 53.0 percent from the field and 37.0 percent from behind the arc. His ability to put the ball on the floor and stretch defenses with his range not to mention his size and length give opponents headaches regularly. He also swatted away 2.3 blocks a game, which helps explain why the Thunder finished the regular season fourth overall in the NBA with a 111.5 adjusted defensive efficiency. If not for the existence of one Victor Wembanyama, last year’s top pick overall by the San Antonio Spurs, Holmgren likely would have been this season’s Rookie of the Year winner.</p><p>With or without the Rookie of the Year honor, the future is definitely bright for Holmgren and the Thunder, who signed him to a four-year deal worth $44.89 million in 2022.</p><p>What Tatum said about Holmgren still holds up. Holmgren’s relatively light frame belies his toughness inside. Together with his fellow young stars on the Thunder roster in the likes of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams, Holmgren is managing to impress Oklahoma City and its fans, who had not been to the playoffs in three consecutive seasons before Holmgren entered the fray and started suiting up.</p><h2>Chet Holmgren, Thunder in the middle of a heated playoff battle against the Dallas Mavericks</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander-and-Chet-Holmgren.jpg"><figcaption>© Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>At present, Holmgren and the Thunder are being put on an acid test by Luka Doncic and the Mavs in the second round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs. The Thunder won Game 1 of the series before Dallas took Oklahoma City down in each of the next two games. However, the Thunder responded with a win in Game 4 to tie the series up at 2-2. A <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-shai-gilgeous-alexanders-warning-mavericks-omar-the-wire-trench-coat">pivotal Game 5</a> is to take place Wednesday night in Oklahoma City.</p><p>A win there by the Thunder would put them in a great position to wrap things up in Game 6 in Dallas. Those are all going to be easier said than done, but the rapidly maturing bunch of Holmgren and company know they have it in them to take care of business the rest of the way in the Dallas series and secure the franchise’s first Western Conference finals berth since 2016.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

How Jayson Tatum knew Thunder’s Chet Holmgren would dominate before NBA start

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/thunder-news-chet-holmgren-drops-crazy-reaction-to-shai-gilgeous-alexanders-game-4-takeover');   ga('set', 'title', 'Thunder center Chet Holmgren drops ‘crazy’ reaction to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s Game 4 takeover');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Thunder-center-Chet-Holmgren-drops-crazy-reaction-to-Shai-Gilgeous-Alexanders-Game-4-takeover.jpg"></figure><h1>Thunder center Chet Holmgren drops ‘crazy’ reaction to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s Game 4 takeover</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-05-14T08:41:21-07:00">May 14th, 8:41am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-05-14T08:41:21-07:00">May 14th, 8:41am</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>It’s not a stretch at all to say that the Oklahoma City Thunder’s back was against the wall on Monday night in Game 4 of their second-round matchup against the Dallas Mavericks. The Mavs were in control for much of the game, even taking a 14-point lead at some point, but the Thunder stuck to their task and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-shai-gilgeous-alexander-instant-reaction-okc-stealing-game-4-vs-mavericks">came away with a 100-96 victory</a>, thanks in large part, yet again, to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s heroics.</p><p>Gilgeous-Alexander showed why he’s a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nuggets-news-shaq-nikola-jokic-shai-gilgeous-alexander-mvp">deserving MVP winner</a> all the same with the way he led the Thunder back from the cusp of death in Game 4. In the final minutes of the game, Gilgeous-Alexander got to his spots at will and drained midrange shot after midrange shot with ease, cutting through the Mavericks’ defense with such surgical precision. He finished with 34 points on the night, with no eight points being more important than when he went on an 8-2 run by himself to tie the game at 86.</p><p>At this point, this sort of play is becoming more and more common from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. But his Thunder teammates are still <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/40143162/thunder-rally-mavs-final-minutes-even-series" rel="noopener">in awe</a> of how dominant their best player can be. Chet Holmgren, in particular, has to pinch himself sometimes to remind himself that Gilgeous-Alexander’s heroics are indeed part of the reality he lives in.</p><p>“There’s some points in the game I’m doing the same thing you guys are doing — just kind of being a fan of what he’s doing and, when some of those shots go in, just kind of making a face like, ‘That’s crazy,'” Holmgren said, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN.</p><figure class="op-interactive"></figure><p>The highlight of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s fourth-quarter barrage was when he made a difficult leaning midrange shot from the left baseline. Not only was it heavily contested, he also had to increase the arc on his shot to get it over the backboard — and yet he still made it.</p><p>This game continues to show that Gilgeous-Alexander is a bonafide top-five player in the NBA, as not only does he lift the team to victory when the moment calls for it, but he also makes those around him better players.</p><p>“He’s been doing it all year. I’ve seen him do it since I got here, and that’s just who he is. Tough-shot maker, but he does a lot more out there for us than just that,” Holmgren added.</p><h2><b>Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder’s MVP in more ways than one</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander-and-Chet-Holmgren.jpg"></figure><p>Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s elite ability to put the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-shai-gilgeous-alexander-ill-advised-admission-circus-shot-over-backboard">ball through the basket</a> is what separates him from most of his peers; he finished second in total points this past regular season thanks to his complete arsenal of moves, shiftiness off the bounce, top-tier ability to change pace, and his buttery touch, particularly from midrange.</p><p>But Gilgeous-Alexander’s playmaking isn’t to be slept on. He is a smart player who is willing to make the right play every single time. On Monday, that’s exactly what he did when he prevented the Thunder from going down 3-1 in the series.</p><p>After he scored eight straight points to tie the game against the Mavericks, Gilgeous-Alexander drew even more attention from the Mavericks defense than he already usually does. It was on him to make the correct pass, and make the correct pass he did. On back-to-back possessions, Gilgeous-Alexander found the open shooter, and Chet Holmgren and Luguentz Dort promptly drained those open looks, giving the Thunder a lead they would not relinquish.</p><p>Gilgeous-Alexander caught some flak in the aftermath of Game 3 for his poor shot selection towards the end of the game. He pulled up from deep with the Thunder down by three, which isn’t a bad idea by itself, but that attempt came with 17 seconds remaining on the shot clock. In Game 4, he responded by refusing to settle, as he took only one three-pointer (which he missed). It’s his ability to adjust under pressure that makes him one of the most difficult players to stop, especially in the context of a seven-game playoff series.</p><h2><b>Chet Holmgren finds a way</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Oklahoma-City-Thunder-forward-Chet-Holmgren-7-celebrates.jpg"></figure><p>For most of Game 4, the Mavericks made a concerted effort to make Chet Holmgren’s life <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunders-chet-holmgren-doubles-down-on-okcs-stance-amid-2-1-deficit-vs-mavericks">a living hell</a>. The Mavs crashed the glass with such ferocity, with Dereck Lively II being quite physical with the Thunder big man. Holmgren, however, was undeterred.</p><p>Despite crashing to the floor on multiple occasions in the fourth, it was Holmgren who hit the go-ahead triple that put the Thunder up for good. He finished Game 4 with 18 points, nine rebounds, and four blocks, and he made six of his nine shots from the floor.</p><p>The Thunder may need more scoring volume from Holmgren moving forward, especially with Jalen Williams currently mired in a cold spell. But the 22-year old center is showing that he is not afraid of the limelight.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Thunder center Chet Holmgren drops ‘crazy’ reaction to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s Game 4 takeover

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mavericks-news-thunder-chet-holmgren-luka-doncic-nba-playoffs');   ga('set', 'title', 'Thunder’s Chet Holmgren echoes Mavericks star Luka Doncic’s eye-opening NBA playoffs admission');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Chet-Holmgren-echoes-Luka-Doncics-eye-opening-NBA-playoffs-admission.jpg"></figure><h1>Thunder’s Chet Holmgren echoes Mavericks star Luka Doncic’s eye-opening NBA playoffs admission</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-05-13T12:13:38-07:00">May 13th, 12:13pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-05-13T12:17:32-07:00">May 13th, 12:17pm</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/joey.mistretta/" rel="facebook">Joey Mistretta</a>Joey Mistretta is a Dallas Mavericks beat reporter and lead MLB editor for ClutchPoints. He is originally from a small town in Southern California. Mistretta graduated college with a degree in broadcast journalism from Biola University.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks lead the Western Conference Semifinals over the Oklahoma City Thunder 2-1. It has been a physical series. The officiating in the series has drawn mixed reactions, and both Luka Doncic and Chet Holmgren believe there is a difference in how the game is being called now as compared to the regular season.</p><p>After Game 3, Doncic was asked if this playoff series is being called the same as a regular season game.</p><p>“No, I don’t think so,” Doncic said.</p><p>On Monday after the Thunder’s shoot-around, Holmgren was asked if the physicality of this series is different than the regular season. He said it is “similar,” but noted that the officiating is different.</p><p>“No it’s pretty similar,” Holmgren said of the physicality. “I would just say there’s a little bit of a difference in how the game is called between early in the season and this point in the season. In terms of regulating the physicality it’s been pretty fair in my opinion. That’s all you can ask for. I don’t care if you call it, call it tight or let us play as long as it’s equal both ways.”</p><p>Holmgren doesn’t have a preference one way or the other. He doesn’t have an issue with the difference. As long as the game is being called fairly for both teams, Holmgren will accept the officiating.</p><p>“All I ask is that the game is fair,” Holmgren said.</p><h2><b>Mavericks contained Holmgren in Game 3</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Chet-Holmgren-during-Thunder-Mavericks-Game-3.jpg"><figcaption>Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-pj-washington-game-3-luka-doncic-kyrie-irving">Mavericks defeated the Thunder</a> 105-101 in Game 3. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander performed well, as he finished the game with 31 points. He did not receive much help from his teammates, though.</p><p>Jalen Williams scored 16 points. Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Joe both scored 13 in the Thunder’s loss.</p><p>Holmgren shot 5-9 from the field and he went just 0-2 from beyond the arc. He is certainly capable of stretching the floor, but Dallas found a way to contain his offensive prowess in Game 3.</p><p>Holmgren still held things down on the defensive end of the floor. He finished the game with four blocks. Nevertheless, Oklahoma City is going to need more production from their star rookie in order to get back in the series.</p><p>Mavericks centers Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II played a pivotal role in defending Holmgren in Game 3. Holmgren also <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeyMistretta_/status/1790066497919885799" rel="noopener">discussed the performances</a> of the Mavs big men.</p><p>“Extremely solid,” Holmgren said Monday. “Both of them are really good players. They kind of tag-team throughout the game. They sub in for each other and they’re always fresh every couple minutes. They’re out there, they’re ready to go every time they get in the game. You know, they do a great job at their job.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Chet Holmgren discussed the play of PJ Washington, Daniel Gafford, and Dereck  Lively II<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Mavericks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Mavericks</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Thunder?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Thunder</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBAPlayoffs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBAPlayoffs</a> <a href="https://t.co/z1f6s6yW3x">pic.twitter.com/z1f6s6yW3x</a></p><p>— Joey Mistretta (@JoeyMistretta_) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeyMistretta_/status/1790066497919885799?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 13, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>The Mavs will look to take a 3-1 series lead over Holmgren and the Thunder on Monday night.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Thunder’s Chet Holmgren echoes Mavericks star Luka Doncic’s eye-opening NBA playoffs admission

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/thunders-chet-holmgren-doubles-down-on-okcs-stance-amid-2-1-deficit-vs-mavericks');   ga('set', 'title', 'Thunder’s Chet Holmgren doubles down on OKC’s stance amid 2-1 deficit vs Mavericks');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Thunder-news-Chet-Holmgren-doubles-down-on-OKCs-stance-amid-2-1-deficit-vs-Mavericks.jpg"></figure><h1>Thunder’s Chet Holmgren doubles down on OKC’s stance amid 2-1 deficit vs Mavericks</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-05-11T18:17:19-07:00">May 11th, 6:17pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-05-11T18:17:19-07:00">May 11th, 6:17pm</time><address><a>Nayan Brahmbhatt</a>Nayan Brahmbhatt is a recent graduate from Queen's University's Smith School of Business living in Toronto, Ontario. He is passionate about and has been involved in sports since a young age, and continues to reminisce about the (brief) time Kawhi spent in Toronto. Although he can talk shop about the Raptors and Ravens all day, what's really always on his mind is having finished his undergrad without having won a single fantasy or intramural league.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>As the Western Conference semifinals unfold, the Oklahoma City Thunder find themselves in an unexpected and challenging position. Seeded first after a standout regular season, the Thunder is currently down 2-1 against the fifth-seeded Dallas Mavericks. At the heart of this young Thunder team is rookie sensation Chet Holmgren, who despite the team’s current standing, remains steadfast in his belief in the team’s process and approach.</p><p>“We’re not going to change what we’ve been doing all season: trusting each other, trusting the process, trusting the coaches,” <a href="https://twitter.com/okcthunder/status/1789440349821415922">declared</a> Holmgren, reinforcing a sentiment of resilience and steadiness in the face of adversity. This approach is not just about sticking to the game plan, but also a testament to the culture of perseverance being built within the team. Holmgren’s additional comments underscore the gritty nature of <a href="https://twitter.com/MichaelOnSports/status/1789439306823610456">playoff basketball</a>, “Both teams are throwing punches back and forth. We’ve gotta be able to take those punches and throw some of our own. Which I feel like we did a good job tonight and we’ve done through the series. In the last two games we just haven’t been able to be leading when the time runs out.”</p><p>This postseason marks a significant chapter for the Thunder as the youngest team ever to win a playoff series and reach this stage of competition. The historical significance is profound—rarely does such a youthful squad manage to blend talent, execution, and composure to challenge for a championship. This feat is usually reserved for more experienced lineups. Traditionally, the number one seed in any conference carries the weight of expectation, and a 2-1 deficit is generally seen as an anomaly. The situation becomes a compelling narrative about overcoming odds and defying expectations, something the Thunder have managed to do thus far.</p><h2>Chet Holmgren’s Impact</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/chet-balling-out.jpg"></figure><p>Chet Holmgren’s role cannot be understated in discussing the Thunder’s playoff journey. His performances across the first three games against the Mavericks paint a picture of a player who is quickly adapting to the playoff atmosphere, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-most-blame-painful-game-3-loss-mavericks">unlike some other Thunder teammates</a>. On May 7, Holmgren’s stat line was impressive with 19 points, 7 rebounds, and significant defensive contributions including 3 blocks. This performance was pivotal in securing the Thunder’s initial victory in the series.</p><p>However, the journey has seen ups and downs, as evidenced in the following games. On May 9, despite a decent all-around performance with 11 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists, his shooting efficiency dipped, which paralleled a Thunder loss. The recent game on May 11 saw a similar theme: Holmgren put up 13 points and collected 8 rebounds, but his lack of success from the three-point line (0-2) and overall decreased shooting efficiency mirrored the team’s struggles, culminating in another loss where the Mavericks edged out the Thunder 105-101.</p><p>These fluctuations in performance highlight not only Holmgren’s critical role in the team’s offensive setup but also how pivotal his scoring efficiency is to the Thunder’s overall success. His ability to affect the game on both ends of the floor is indicative of his potential to become a cornerstone for the franchise.</p><p>In their lone win, Holmgren’s efficiency from the field was a booster to the Thunder’s offensive output. Conversely, the losses witnessed a decrease in his scoring efficiency, which had a cascading effect on the team’s performance, especially in critical moments. The tight margins in playoff games magnify the importance of every shot, and Holmgren’s ability to adapt and improve his shot selection will be crucial moving forward in the series.</p><p>Being down 2-1, the psychological resilience of this <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-gilgeous-alexander-mavericks-pj-washington">young Thunder team</a> is under scrutiny. The pressure of playoff basketball, particularly for a top seed facing an upset, can be immense. Holmgren’s steadfast approach and the coaching staff’s strategy will be key in navigating this adversity. The Thunder must continue to leverage their strengths, including their speed, agility, and Holmgren’s versatility, to counter the Mavericks’ experienced lineup.</p><p>As the series progresses, the interplay between maintaining a trusted process while adapting to the dynamics of each game will define the Thunder’s pathway. Holmgren’s development and performance are at the forefront of this narrative. His ability to remain effective defensively while recalibrating his offensive contributions will likely dictate the series’ outcome.</p><p>Furthermore, the team’s philosophy of growth and trust, as echoed by Holmgren, resonates not just for this series but as a long-term approach. This developmental mindset, especially when led by a promising talent like Holmgren, sets a foundation for sustained success and potentially, a deep playoff run even beyond this season.</p><p>As the Thunder look to rebound from their current deficit against the Mavericks, there is pressure thagt remains on Chet Holmgren. His performances have illustrated both immense potential and the inevitable growing pains of a rookie in high-stakes games</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2023-24 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
16.5	7.9	2.4	2.3	0.6

2023-24 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
16.5	7.9	2.4	2.3	0.6

Chet Holmgren news

Chet
Holmgren news