<!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', '/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-chet-holmgren-reveals-key-area-summer-improvement-title-defense');   ga('set', 'title', 'Chet Holmgren reveals key area of summer improvement before Thunder title defense');   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/2025/08/Thunder-forward-Chet-Holmgren.jpg"><figcaption>Kirby Lee-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Chet Holmgren reveals key area of summer improvement before Thunder title defense</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-08-26T20:57:43-07:00">August 26th, 8:57pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-08-26T20:57:43-07:00">August 26th, 8:57pm</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>Before the champion Oklahoma City <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-nuggets-cavs-headline-essential-games-2025-26-title-defense">Thunder defends its title against the NBA’s elite</a>, Chet Holmgren is working on his shooting ahead of his fourth NBA season. The 23-year-old forward is spending time with shooting coach Drew Hanlen, who has worked with Boston Celtics All-Star Jayson Tatum, Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid, and Tyrese Maxey, among others, including Miami Heat’s Tyler Herro and Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton.</p><p>Holmgren has been <a href="https://twitter.com/cooperjnba/status/1960368116334219546?s=46&amp;t=r1n-d07DECxf6Tvlm4h8Xw" rel="noopener">working on his outside touch</a> throughout the summer and leaned on Hanlen for pointers, according to NBA.com.</p><p>“I’ve been working on my shot all summer. Even before you, I got out of here with Drew,” Holmgren said. “Just continuing to work on that stuff. Working on being on balance, playing off of bumps, slowing down.”</p><p>Holmgren’s taken on Drew Hanlen’s meticulous approach.</p><p>“The attention to detail,” Holmgren said. “Two people can do the same move, but it really takes perfection to really make the move effective. And he doesn’t let anybody slip up on the details. If he sees something, he’s going to say something.”</p><p>Improving his shooting is just the first of many goals he’s set for the 2025-26 campaign.</p><p>“Continue to improve. Continue to get better,” Holmgren said when asked about his newfound approach for next season. “I have a lot of personal goals, but if I don’t do that, none of that happens.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"I've been working on my shot all summer… Working on being on balance, playing off of bumps, slowing down."</p><p>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NBA</a>) <a href="https://t.co/IuFUCR5OuW">pic.twitter.com/IuFUCR5OuW</a></p><p>— Cooper Jones (@CooperJNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/CooperJNBA/status/1960368116334219546?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 26, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2><b>Sneaky Chet Holmgren contract details help Thunder</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Thunder-forward-Chet-Holmgren-Thunder-forward-Jalen-Williams.jpg"><figcaption>Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The Thunder front office invested fully in its championship core in All-Stars Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren, inking them to max contracts worth an astonishing $822 million combined. However, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-jalen-williams-chet-holmgren-contract-details-help-okc">Thunder implemented details into Williams’ and Holmgren’s deals</a> that protect them in the future.</p><p>The two extensions each <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/45749043/nba-free-agency-which-franchises-belong-apron-club" rel="noopener">represent 25% of the team’s cap space</a>. In 2026-27, that number is $16 million less than the second apron, which will give the Thunder the chance to improve its roster without the dreaded restrictions that NBA teams dread in today’s era. It’s what can prevent a team like the Thunder from becoming a dynasty.</p><p>However, with its young and promising core fitting into a unique championship window, the Thunder’s depth and assets, including a treasure trove of future first-round picks and talented, team-friendly contracts that make up its second unit, will keep them in the mix for a second title. It’s one of the biggest reasons the Thunder is a favorite to repeat as champions, considering head coach Mark Daigneault’s player rotation will return and is under contract through 2027.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Chet Holmgren reveals key area of summer improvement before Thunder title defense

<!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', '/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunders-chet-holmgrens-thrilled-reaction-to-paige-bueckers-wings-show');   ga('set', 'title', 'Thunder’s Chet Holmgren’s thrilled reaction to Paige Bueckers, Wings show');   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/2025/08/Chet-Holmgren-at-Wings-Sparks.jpg"><figcaption>Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><h1>Thunder’s Chet Holmgren’s thrilled reaction to Paige Bueckers, Wings show</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-08-21T04:44:39-07:00">August 21st, 4:44am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-08-21T14:03:09-07:00">August 21st, 2:03pm</time><address><a>Rishav Bhat</a>Rishav is a seasoned NBA and sports journalist and editor with over seven years of experience working for reputed organizations. A novelist first and foremost, he has written three fiction books. His high threshold of knowledge combined with his writing skills gives him the ability to write uniquely insightful pieces across basketball, soccer, cricket, lawn tennis, eSports, and a variety of other sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Dallas Wings</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Dallas Wings’ <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/wnba/los-angeles-sparks/sparks-news-la-perfect-streak-alive-wild-ending-wings-clash">Paige Bueckers made WNBA history on Wednesday night by producing a whopping 44 points</a> in the 81-80 loss against the Los Angeles Sparks. Kelsey Plum buried a late floater to give the Sparks a one-point victory in what was one of the most entertaining games played in the league’s recent history.</p><p>Enjoying it among the fans <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/wnba/dallas-wings/wings-news-paige-bueckers-moment-jalen-green-chet-holmgren-historic-night">was none other than Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren</a>. The 23-year-old forward was flaunting an OKC 2025 NBA Champions hat and wore a black jacket and <a href="https://x.com/BenGeffner/status/1958369777577271787" rel="noopener">track pants over a white shirt.</a></p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Chet Holmgren reacts to Paige Bueckers and the Wings after a forced Sparks timeout. He’s been on his feet for the majority of the third quarter.</p><p>Holmgren’s sporting OKC’s 2025 NBA Champions hat courtside in LA. <a href="https://t.co/hStXTua4LL">pic.twitter.com/hStXTua4LL</a></p><p>— Ben Geffner (@BenGeffner) <a href="https://twitter.com/BenGeffner/status/1958369777577271787?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 21, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Holmgren can be seen beaming on his feet after the Wings forced a timeout from the Sparks, and was reportedly on his feet for the majority of the third quarter. Bueckers’ remarkable outing set the single-game rookie scoring record and tied Cynthia Cooper’s 1997 mark for the 10th-most points in league history.</p><p>However, the loss officially ended the Wings’ postseason hopes as they languish 11th on the table with a 9-27 record. Regardless, Bueckers shot 17-21 from the field and converted all four of her 3-pointers on the night.</p><p>She also scored all 14 of the Wings’ points in the fourth quarter, putting her team ahead at 80-79 before a cheap turnover. The Sparks as a result got a final possession as Plum sealed the deal with just .5 seconds left on the clock.</p><p>Bueckers also became the first player in WNBA history to record 40 or more points while shooting at least 80 percent from the field. She had previously scored a career-high of 35 against the Phoenix Mercury and has now scored in double digits in 29 straight games.</p><p>For the Sparks, Plum finished with 20 points while Dearica Hamby and Cameron Brink added 14 and 11 points, respectively. Rickea Jackson led her team with 25 points, which proved enough to offset Bueckers’ record-breaking game.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Thunder’s Chet Holmgren’s thrilled reaction to Paige Bueckers, Wings show

<!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', '/wnba/dallas-wings/wings-news-paige-bueckers-moment-jalen-green-chet-holmgren-historic-night');   ga('set', 'title', 'Wings’ Paige Bueckers shares moment with Chet Holmgren, Jalen Green after historic night');   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/2025/08/Paige-Bueckers-overtakes-Cynthia-Cooper-on-all-time-WNBA-rookie-streak.jpg"><figcaption>Kirby Lee-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Wings’ Paige Bueckers shares moment with Chet Holmgren, Jalen Green after historic night</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-08-21T00:18:08-07:00">August 21st, 12:18am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-08-21T05:25:02-07:00">August 21st, 5:25am</time><address><a>Paolo Mariano</a>Paolo Mariano is a freelance writer, editor, and producer based in Manila, Philippines. He is a journalism graduate from the University of Santo Tomas and the father of a young girl whose personality swings from Simone Biles to Dillon Brooks. A beacon of objectivity, he believes Penny Hardaway is the true NBA GOAT.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Dallas Wings</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Dallas Wings guard <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/wnba/dallas-wings/wings-news-fans-erupt-paige-bueckers-unreal-offense-sparks">Paige Bueckers has made a believer out of everybody</a> with her stellar rookie campaign. Her all-around brilliance and fearless play have NBA players also taking notice.</p><p>Bueckers had herself a night on Wednesday, pouring in a career-high 44 points on a highly efficient 17-of-21 shooting, including 4-of-4 from beyond the arc, against the Los Angeles Sparks.</p><p>While the Wings lost a heartbreaker, 81-80, Bueckers’ high-scoring masterclass had the entire basketball world talking.</p><p>After the game, the 23-year-old Bueckers was congratulated by Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren, Phoenix Suns guard Jalen Green, and Houston Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr., who were <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1958395845189181879" rel="noopener">all on hand to witness</a> the Wings star’s special performance.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Jalen Green, Jabari Smith Jr, and Chet Holmgren congratulate Paige Bueckers after her BIG night 🤝</p><p>Ultimate respect!</p><p>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/DallasWings?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DallasWings</a>)<br> <a href="https://t.co/0eYZOxCwNl">pic.twitter.com/0eYZOxCwNl</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1958395845189181879?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 21, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Bueckers and Holmgren are <a href="https://ftw.usatoday.com/story/sports/wnba/2025/01/08/paige-bueckers-interview-uconn-womens-basketball-wnba-draft-geno-nike/77542716007/" rel="noopener">almost kindred spirits</a>, having both grown up in Minnesota. The Wings guard has stated that she’s close with the Thunder pivot and Orlando Magic guard Jalen Suggs, who also hails from The North Star State.</p><p>“It means everything to be able to represent Minnesota. It is known as a hockey state, but the basketball production is great as well. I’m close with Jalen and Chet and so many other basketball players who have done so well these past few years. It’s really cool to see the growth and the exposure and Minnesota getting a little bit of credit for basketball,” said Bueckers in an interview with USA Today Sports’ Bryan Kalbrosky in January.</p><p>Although the Wings have struggled with a 9-27 record, Bueckers is a frontrunner as Rookie of the Year. It’s hard to merely dismiss her personal feats because of their woeful standing.</p><p>She is averaging team-highs of 18.8 points, 5.4 assists, and 1.7 steals on top of 4.1 rebounds. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/wnba/dallas-wings/wings-news-paige-bueckers-cynthia-cooper-all-time-wnba-rookie-streak">Bueckers has scored in double digits in 29 straight games</a>, the third-longest streak for a rookie in league history. Many have hailed her high basketball IQ and composure despite being a newcomer.</p><p>Holmgren, Green, and Smith have also made a huge impact on their respective teams in their young careers. They know exactly how special Bueckers is.</p><p>The Wings are already out of contention for the playoffs, although they still have eight games left. Expect Bueckers to go out with guns blazing.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Wings’ Paige Bueckers shares moment with Chet Holmgren, Jalen Green after historic night

<!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', '/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-jalen-williams-chet-holmgren-contract-details-help-okc');   ga('set', 'title', 'Sneaky Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren contract details help Thunder');   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/2025/07/Oklahoma-City-Thunder-forward-Jalen-Williams-and-center-Chet-Holmgren.jpg"><figcaption>Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Sneaky Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren contract details help Thunder</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-07-16T13:43:18-07:00">July 16th, 1:43pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-07-16T13:43:18-07:00">July 16th, 1:43pm</time><address><a>Zachary Howell</a>Zachary Howell is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints focusing on creating premier MLB content. He is a big fan of the Yankees, Oklahoma City Thunder and the Syracuse Orange. In his free time, he likes to be outside or read.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>After Mark Daigneault led the Oklahoma City Thunder to the franchise’s first championship, Sam Presti got to work. The Thunder’s general manager quickly <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/shai-gilgeous-alexanders-285-million-thunder-contract-extension-becomes-largest-in-nba-history">signed Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to a four-year, $285 million contract extension</a>. He gave Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren similar deals. While there are concerns about the team’s financial future, they should be okay.</p><p>The Thunder gave their three stars more than $800 million combined on their contracts. However, Oklahoma City implemented details into Williams’ and Holmgren’s deals that protect them. According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, the two extensions each <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/45749043/nba-free-agency-which-franchises-belong-apron-club" rel="noopener">represent 25% of the team’s cap space</a>. In 2026-27, that number is $16 million less than the second apron.</p><p>However, the kicker is the escalators, or lack thereof, in each deal. Williams will get more if he wins MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, or earns First Team All-NBA honors. His team would increase to $287 million if he does any of those things. There are also boosts available to him if he makes the second- or third-team. However, Holmgren’s contract does not have any escalators.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/why-thunder-800-million-max-contracts-wont-lead-second-apron-nightmare">Presti has given his team flexibility in the form of team options</a> across the roster. With them at his disposal, the Thunder’s general manager should be able to navigate the second apron. While it does not apply to his stars, Presti can choose when to cut ties with players like Isaiah Hartenstein and Luguentz Dort when the time comes.</p><p>While Daigneault would much rather the roster stay intact for as long as possible, that simply is not possible. In a world where teams that hand out big contracts are punished, the Thunder are built to last. All eyes will be on Oklahoma City for years to come as the defending champs try to begin the NBA’s next dynasty.</p><p>While Gilgeous-Alexander is there for the long haul, the contracts beside his could be what propel the Thunder to another title.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Sneaky Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren contract details help Thunder

<!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', '/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-chet-holmgren-nba-centel-posts');   ga('set', 'title', 'Thunder’s Chet Holmgren rates NBA Centel posts about himself');   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/2025/06/747041806-chet-holmgren-aaron-wiggins.jpg"><figcaption>Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><h1>Thunder’s Chet Holmgren rates NBA Centel posts about himself</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-07-15T11:03:18-07:00">July 15th, 11:03am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-07-15T13:41:28-07:00">July 15th, 1:41pm</time><address><a>Rishav Bhat</a>Rishav is a seasoned NBA and sports journalist and editor with over seven years of experience working for reputed organizations. A novelist first and foremost, he has written three fiction books. His high threshold of knowledge combined with his writing skills gives him the ability to write uniquely insightful pieces across basketball, soccer, cricket, lawn tennis, eSports, and a variety of other sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Oklahoma City Thunder’s <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/grading-chet-holmgren-thunder-max-contract-extension-worth">Chet Holmgren has had an incredibly marvelous time</a> of late. After winning his first NBA championship in just his third official season in the NBA, the lanky forward signed a $250 million contract extension. </p><p>And now he seems to be making the most of the offseason as well. In a recent video posted by NBA Centel, a parody news account, Holmgren was seen rating a range of <a href="https://x.com/TheNBACentel/status/1945119672539529535" rel="noopener">videos posted previously by the account.</a></p><p>The first post featured Chet Holmgren with a fake haircut.</p><p>“It might be my favorite Centel post, coz it actually looks cold. When he figured out how to use photoshop, whoever runs that, took it to another level. I give that one an eight out of 10,” he said.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">.<a href="https://twitter.com/ChetHolmgren?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ChetHolmgren</a> rating Centel posts about himself 😭🔥 <a href="https://t.co/DlmlfBdx6Z">pic.twitter.com/DlmlfBdx6Z</a></p><p>— NBACentel (@TheNBACentel) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheNBACentel/status/1945119672539529535?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 15, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p></figure><p>The second featured the Thunder player wearing a fake t-shirt with a parody message. The 23-year-old lauded the photoshop and claimed people actually believe he wore the top.</p><p>“I will give that one a seven. It is kind of lame, but good photoshop. I give this a seven out of 10,” he said.</p><p>Holmgren then rated a post with a fake quote. The Centel post suggested that the OKC superstar had claimed to be “from the trenches.”</p><p>“I never said that; I never said I am from the trenches; I never said any of these quotes, honestly. But I give it a 10 out of 10 for misinformation,” Chet said.</p><p>Finally, Holmgren rated a post featuring a fake 4th of July food plate. He gave the final post a seven out of 10, rounding off the set of ratings. Holmgren is clearly a fan of NBA Centel’s X activity and did not go lower than seven throughout. </p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-chet-holmgreen-agrees-max-contract-extension-worth-up-to-250-million">The OKC superstar seems to be making the most of a well-earned break</a> and enters the new season with a huge pay raise. </p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Thunder’s Chet Holmgren rates NBA Centel posts about himself

<!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', '/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-chet-holmgren-sends-perfect-one-liner-jalen-williams-extension');   ga('set', 'title', 'Thunder’s Chet Holmgren sends perfect one-liner after Jalen Williams’ extension');   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/2025/07/Oklahoma-City-Thunder-forward-Chet-Holmgren-7-reacts-with-forward-Jalen-Williams-8-in-the-second-half-during-game-four-of-the-western-conference-finals-for-the-2025-NBA-Playoffs-at-Target-Center.jpg"><figcaption>Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Thunder’s Chet Holmgren sends perfect one-liner after Jalen Williams’ extension</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-07-10T18:31:45-07:00">July 10th, 6:31pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-07-11T10:27:12-07:00">July 11th, 10:27am</time><address><a>Richard Pereira</a>Richard Pereira joined ClutchPoints in January 2025 as an Associate Editor. He earned his degree from Florida Atlantic University in 2023 and has been covering the school's athletic programs since 2020, having served as a Sports Editor at the FAU University Press. He was granted the unique opportunity to report on the men's basketball team's journey to the Final Four in Houston for FAU Owls Nest during March Madness, consistently striving to grow as a sports journalist.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Oklahoma City <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/editorials/why-thunder-800-million-max-contracts-wont-lead-second-apron-nightmare">Thunder secured their future with the contract extensions</a> of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and now Jalen Williams. Following Williams’ deal, Holmgren had a hilarious reaction to the news.</p><p>Williams landed a five-year, $287 million max extension to stay with the Thunder for the long term. With the latest deals involving Gilgeous-Alexander and Holmgren, Oklahoma City has spent more than $750 million to secure its young Big Three.</p><p>Holmgren <a href="https://x.com/ChetHolmgren/status/1943411393870397747" rel="noopener">reacted to the news</a> via social media on Thursday. He decided to joke about the contract, noting how it’s more expensive than his own max extension.</p><p>“Nah, dinner on u bud😂,” Holmgren said.</p><h2><b>What lies ahead for Jalen Williams, Thunder</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Oklahoma-City-Thunder-forward-Jalen-Williams-8-forward-Chet-Holmgren-7-and-guard-Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander-2-talk-to-the-media-after-defeating-the-Minnesota-Timberwolves.jpg"><figcaption>Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>The Thunder’s star trio of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams proved to be a major success.</p><p>In a span of just three years, they developed incredible chemistry as they transformed the Thunder into a title contender overnight. Their efforts helped the squad win their first-ever NBA title in Oklahoma City this past season. This shows how their young star core will continue to remain in contention for the long term.</p><p>Williams earned his contract extension after three years of incredible development. This past season saw him average 21.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 1.6 steals per game after 69 appearances. He earned All-NBA Third Team honors, All-Defensive Second Team honors and an All-Star selection.</p><p>Williams proved his worth in the playoffs. He produced 21.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 1.4 steals per game. While he struggled at points, he bounced back with strong performances to help the Thunder make unforgettable history.</p><p>Oklahoma City looks to be dominant for the long term, especially after securing the top seed of the Western Conference in back-to-back seasons. They keep their championship core intact while preparing themselves for the future where they will have to move on from key players. Despite this, they will have young players stepping in to fulfill those responsibilities.</p><p>No future looks brighter than the Thunder’s right now. And with a title to defend going into next season, they will continue to be a huge threat for opposing teams.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Thunder’s Chet Holmgren sends perfect one-liner after Jalen Williams’ extension

<!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', '/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-zach-lowe-questions-devin-booker-max-in-comparison-to-chet-holmgren');   ga('set', 'title', 'Zach Lowe questions Suns’ Devin Booker’s max in comparison to Chet Holmgren’s');   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/2025/07/Devin-Booker-1-and-Oklahoma-City-Thunder-forward-Chet-Holmgren-7-push-for-position.jpg"><figcaption>© Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Zach Lowe questions Suns’ Devin Booker’s max in comparison to Chet Holmgren’s</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-07-10T13:21:26-07:00">July 10th, 1:21pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-07-10T13:21:26-07:00">July 10th, 1:21pm</time><address><a>Julian Ojeda</a>Julian Ojeda is an Orlando-based sports journalist with 3 years of professional writing under his belt, specializing in both NBA and NFL coverage. A devoted Orlando Magic fan, he deftly balances fervent fandom with insightful reporting, possessing a keen eye for compelling narratives.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Zach Lowe questioned the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-devin-booker-agrees-massive-145-million-contract-extension">Phoenix Suns’ decision to give Devin Booker a two-year, $145 million extension</a>, comparing the contract to newly crowned NBA champion <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/grading-chet-holmgren-thunder-max-contract-extension-worth">Chet Holmgren’s five-year rookie max extension with the Oklahoma City Thunder</a>.</p><p>On the latest episode of The Zach Lowe Show, Lowe pointed to the financial gap between the two deals as a potential issue for Phoenix moving forward.</p><p>“He will make ballpark $70 million in 2029–2030,” Lowe said. “Chet Holmgren in that same season will make ballpark $51 million. So there is an $18 to $21 million dollar difference between them based on the percentages of the cap. Now that raises a whole lot of thorny issues.”</p><p>Holmgren, 23, just completed his second season, averaging 15 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1.9 blocks in 32 games while shooting 49% from the field and 37.9% from three. His five-year extension is worth up to $250 million and tied to 25% of the salary cap.</p><h2><b>Zach Lowe questions Suns’ future flexibility after Devin Booker extension</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Suns-star-Devin-Booker.jpg"><figcaption>Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Booker, 28, averaged 25.6 points, 7.1 assists (a career high), and 4.1 rebounds on 46.1% shooting in his 10th season. He has made two All-NBA teams and finished top five in MVP voting once. The extension will take him through age 33.</p><p>“He’s also made two All-NBA teams and finished in the top five of MVP one time,” Lowe said. “This deal will carry him through his prime… But at 35% of the cap, he’s going to be making almost $20 million more a year in those out years than Chet Holmgren will make.”</p><p>The Suns missed the playoffs this past season and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/nba-stories/kevin-durant-trade-grades-7-teams-blockbuster">traded Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets</a> in exchange for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, No. 10 pick Khaman Maluach, and five second-round picks.</p><p>“I’m just not sure a guy who’s not a no-brainer top ten player in the NBA—and you pile on top of that the fact that in those years there’s going to be some amount of dead Bradley Beal money on the books,” Lowe said.</p><p>“That’s like $85 million to $90 million of your cap for those two guys. I don’t know what else you’re supposed to do if you’re Phoenix because that’s your franchise guy.”</p><p>Still, Lowe admitted the move <a href="https://youtu.be/I9yiAQWGvqU?si=mo0JUKbrby7YoSHM" rel="noopener">made him uneasy</a>.</p><p>“I just know that this deal, and I love Devin Booker, this deal made my stomach turn a little bit,” he said. “I think what the implication of that is that you just say, you know what, you’re under contract for two or three more years—we don’t need to do this now. Let’s just see how the next eight to 24 months go.”</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Zach Lowe questions Suns’ Devin Booker’s max in comparison to Chet Holmgren’s

<!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', '/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/grading-chet-holmgren-thunder-max-contract-extension-worth');   ga('set', 'title', 'Grading Chet Holmgren’s Thunder max contract extension worth up to $250 million');   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/2025/07/Grading-Chet-Holmgrens-Thunder-max-contract-extension-worth.jpg"></figure><h1>Grading Chet Holmgren’s Thunder max contract extension worth up to $250 million</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-07-09T13:21:36-07:00">July 9th, 1:21pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-07-10T09:51:37-07:00">July 10th, 9:51am</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">Mini-Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Oklahoma City Thunder forward <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-chet-holmgreen-agrees-max-contract-extension-worth-up-to-250-million">Chet Holmgren agreed to a five-year extension</a> worth $250 million, which surprised some, as Holmgren will earn an annual salary of over $41 million after missing three months of the 2024-25 campaign. That figure leaps to over $51 million on the backend of year four and five of the season. The second overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft is technically coming off his sophomore year with the Thunder.</p><p>Holmgren will join the likes of Philadelphia 76ers All-Star Joel Embiid, Denver Nuggets All-Star Nikola Jokic, and New York Knicks All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns as bigs making $50 million or more next season despite never making an All-Star team. However, he was a key catalyst in the Thunder capturing its first title in franchise history, and a hefty raise is a byproduct of that, as well as Oklahoma City’s championship window.</p><p>After missing his entire rookie season due to a foot injury, a hip fracture left Holmgren sidelined for the first half of last season before returning without missing a step post-All-Star break. Still, could signing Holmgren to such a deal turn out to be a devastating mistake, considering his history with long-term injuries, or is he on the cusp of ascending into a star?</p><p>That was the question Thunder GM Sam Presti and his front office had to ask themselves heading into free agency, coming off a championship run with a historically elite defense — one that Chet played a significant part in. He contested 93% of opponents’ shot attempts as the closest defender, the second-highest rate in the league since the start of last season. He led the NBA in field goal percentage allowed on layups and dunks in the previous season among players to contest 100-plus shots, according to GeniusIQ.</p><p>And, Holmgren <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/45700873/chet-holmgren-agrees-rookie-max-extension-thunder" rel="noopener">allowed the lowest field goal percentage</a> (33%) of anyone who defended at least 40 shots in this year’s NBA Finals, per ESPN tracking.</p><p>After averaging 15.0 points on 49% shooting, including 37.9% from deep, 8.0 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks in 32 regular-season games, Holmgren’s offensive production dipped in the postseason. Still, his presence was often most felt on the opposite end of the floor for the Thunder. Most memorably, his five blocks out of 11 total in the NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers occurred in Game 7, setting a new record for blocks in an NBA Finals Game 7.</p><p>And, his plus-169 plus-minus was the best mark of any player in the 2025 postseason, according to ESPN Research. While some may view Chet Holmgren’s $250 million figure over five seasons as overpay, or a risk for Oklahoma City, it’s one worth taking in the 23-year-old champion big with plenty of upside as the Thunder’s third option to their reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and All-NBA star Jalen Williams.</p><p><b>Grade: B</b></p><h2><b>Will Jalen Williams receive the next Thunder rookie max extension?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Thunder-forward-Chet-Holmgren.jpg"><figcaption>Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Thunder All-Star <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-jalen-williams-chet-holmgren-line-247-million-contract-extensions">Jalen Williams is eligible for a rookie max</a> extension as he and his teammate Chet Holmgren were selected in the same draft class in 2022. Williams blossomed into an All-Star in the 2024-25 season, earning his first selection before being named to the All-Defensive Second Team and the All-NBA Third Team.</p><p>After the Thunder captured the 2025 NBA championship, analysts were waiting to see how the front office would <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/44588112/nba-offseason-2025-draft-free-agency-trade-targets-30-teams" rel="noopener">approach the two 2022 first-round draftees</a> who helped MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who became the highest-paid player in the NBA this summer, lead the Thunder to glory, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks.</p><p>“Holmgren and Williams are eligible to sign up to a five-year, $247 million extension. The total value could increase to $296 million if MVP, All-NBA, and Defensive Player of the Year escalator clauses are included,” Marks wrote. “The increase in salary will only occur if either player reaches one of the three criteria for the 2025-26 season.”</p><p>Williams and the Thunder should be heading toward a new extension sometime soon.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Grading Chet Holmgren’s Thunder max contract extension worth up to $250 million

<!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', '/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-next-move-okc-make-chet-holmgren-max-contract');   ga('set', 'title', 'The next move Thunder will make after Chet Holmgren’s max contract');   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/2025/07/Thunder-news-next-move-OKC-make-Chet-Holmgren-max-contract.jpg"><figcaption>© Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>The next move Thunder will make after Chet Holmgren’s max contract</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-07-09T08:14:39-07:00">July 9th, 8:14am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-07-09T08:14:39-07:00">July 9th, 8:14am</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>The Oklahoma City Thunder are securing the long-term future of their franchise this offseason.</p><p>Earlier today, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-chet-holmgreen-agrees-max-contract-extension-worth-up-to-250-million">OKC and Chet Holmgren agreed to a five-year maximum rookie contract extension</a>, which could, if certain conditions are met, be worth up to nearly $250 million. But the Thunder, ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania says, <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1942939517113008595" rel="noopener">are turning their attention to</a> another big extension.</p><p>“After missing three months during the season, Holmgren returned in February and came back stronger to help lead OKC and its young core to the NBA title,” Charania wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “The Thunder will now move toward locking in All-NBA superstar Jalen Williams, who has momentum in his rookie extension talks.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">After missing three months during the season, Holmgren returned in February and came back stronger to help lead OKC and its young core to the NBA title. The Thunder will now move toward locking in All-NBA superstar Jalen Williams, who has momentum in his rookie extension talks. <a href="https://t.co/oua4FZcuem">https://t.co/oua4FZcuem</a></p><p>— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1942939517113008595?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 9, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>The Thunder selected Williams 10 picks after Holmgren in the 2022 draft, and they could both soon have max extensions in their back pocket.</p><p>Unlike Holmgren, who missed the entire 2022-23 season and a majority of this past season due to injury, Williams has played no fewer than 69 games in a season during his young career. Additionally, he earned his first All-Star appearance, as well as All-Defensive second-team and All-NBA third-team honors this past year.</p><p>Although his shot left him at times in the playoffs — he made just 30.4% of his 3-point attempts, possibly as a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-jalen-williams-gets-timetable-return-wrist-surgery">result of a wrist injury that required recent surgery</a> — Williams still proved to be invaluable to the Thunder’s NBA championship run, during which he averaged 21.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 1.4 steals. As a result of his consistent value as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Holmgren’s co-star, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-jalen-williams-chet-holmgren-line-247-million-contract-extensions">Williams will likely earn a deal just like Holmgren’s.</a></p><p>Since winning the NBA title in Game 7 of the Finals vs. the Indiana Pacers, Oklahoma City has been active in retaining its deep talent pool. In addition to extending Holmgren, the Thunder agreed to a new deal with Jaylin Williams, as well as Ajay Mitchell and reigning MVP Gilgeous-Alexander. The latter, who could have waited another year or two to sign an extension, decided to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/shai-gilgeous-alexanders-285-million-thunder-contract-extension-becomes-largest-in-nba-history">re-up with the Thunder for the largest supermax ever</a> in terms of annual value. SGA is projected to make $272.4 million over four years from 2027 to 2031, carrying an average salary of $68.1 million.</p><p>With all of their pieces in place for the 2025-26 season, the Thunder appear well-positioned to repeat as champions before what could be a major offseason of change next summer. As it stands, the team has club options on five players (Isaiah Hartenstein, Lu Dort, Kenrich Williams, Cason Wallace, and Nikola Topic), and Williams, Ousmane Dieng, and Brooks Barnhizer are set to be restricted free agents, although Williams will almost certainly not be a part of that group for very much longer.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

The next move Thunder will make after Chet Holmgren’s max contract

<!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', '/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-paul-pierce-praises-chet-holmgren-with-scottie-pippen-comparison');   ga('set', 'title', 'Paul Pierce praises Thunder’s Chet Holmgren with Scottie Pippen comparison');   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/2025/06/Thunder-news-Paul-Pierce-praises-Chet-Holmgren-with-Scottie-Pippen-comparison.jpg"><figcaption>ClutchPoints</figcaption></figure><h1>Paul Pierce praises Thunder’s Chet Holmgren with Scottie Pippen comparison</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-28T11:46:37-07:00">June 28th, 11:46am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-28T11:47:05-07:00">June 28th, 11:47am</time><address><a>Julian Ojeda</a>Julian Ojeda is an Orlando-based sports journalist with 3 years of professional writing under his belt, specializing in both NBA and NFL coverage. A devoted Orlando Magic fan, he deftly balances fervent fandom with insightful reporting, possessing a keen eye for compelling narratives.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Chicago Bulls</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Boston Celtics legend and NBA Hall of Famer Paul Pierce recently praised Oklahoma City Thunder big man Chet Holmgren with a <a href="https://youtu.be/mzf4jG6_s4Y?t=596" rel="noopener">notable comparison</a> to six-time NBA champion Scottie Pippen.</p><p>Pierce made the comments on a new episode of KG Certified with former teammate Kevin Garnett, where he evaluated Holmgren’s impact on the Thunder’s championship roster.</p><p>“Chet wasn’t an All-Star, but he’s going to be an All-Star. Chet’s going to be an All-Star,” Pierce said. “He’s like the Scottie Pippen for them. He just does a little bit of everything for them. He defends, he rebounds, he’s like the intangibles. But you know he can do more, but he understands his role. He could be a 20 and 10 guy, you know that. Probably not on that team. What did he average this year? He probably averaged like 17. If Jay Dub [Jalen Williams] wasn’t there, Chet would be a 22 and 10–12 player.”</p><h2><b>Paul Pierce compares Chet Holmgren to Scottie Pippen after Thunder’s first NBA title</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Chet-1.jpg"><figcaption>Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Holmgren, 23, wrapped up his sophomore season averaging 15.0 points, eight rebounds, 2.2 blocks, and two assists per game while shooting 49% from the field and 37.9% from beyond the arc across 35 games. The 7-foot-1 forward was limited earlier in the season due to a hip injury but returned in time to play a pivotal role in the Thunder’s playoff run.</p><p>During the postseason, Holmgren contributed 15.2 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.9 blocks, and one assist per game while shooting 46.2% from the field across 23 games. His defensive presence and floor-spacing ability were instrumental in helping <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-capture-first-nba-championship-game-7-pacers">Oklahoma City defeat the Indiana Pacers in seven games to secure the franchise’s first championship</a> since relocating from Seattle.</p><p>Holmgren wasn’t the only Thunder player to draw comparisons to the Hall of Fame forward. During the NBA Finals, rising wing <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-stephen-a-smith-uses-michael-jordan-scottie-pippen-praise-jalen-williams">Jalen Williams was also likened to Pippen</a> for his versatile two-way play, combining perimeter defense, playmaking, and offensive efficiency. Williams averaged 19.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 4.6 assists in the regular season and continued his strong play throughout the postseason.</p><p>While Holmgren played a complementary role behind <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-shai-gilgeous-alexander-2025-finals-mvp">2025 NBA MVP and Finals MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander</a>, his contributions proved vital throughout the Thunder’s championship campaign. Pierce’s remarks further underscore Holmgren’s trajectory as one of the league’s most unique frontcourt players — one who can thrive in a winning system while anchoring multiple facets of the game.</p><p>As Oklahoma City looks to build on its championship season and secure long-term contention in the Western Conference, Holmgren’s continued development could shape the Thunder’s future just as much as Gilgeous-Alexander’s stardom.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Paul Pierce praises Thunder’s Chet Holmgren with Scottie Pippen comparison

<!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', '/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-chet-holmgren-grabs-attention-ig-post-nba-finals');   ga('set', 'title', 'Thunder’s Chet Holmgren grabs attention with IG post after NBA Finals');   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/2025/06/Oklahoma-City-Thunder-forward-Chet-Holmgren.jpg"><figcaption>Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Thunder’s Chet Holmgren grabs attention with IG post after NBA Finals</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-23T21:01:38-07:00">June 23rd, 9:01pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-23T21:01:38-07:00">June 23rd, 9:01pm</time><address><a>Richard Pereira</a>Richard Pereira joined ClutchPoints in January 2025 as an Associate Editor. He earned his degree from Florida Atlantic University in 2023 and has been covering the school's athletic programs since 2020, having served as a Sports Editor at the FAU University Press. He was granted the unique opportunity to report on the men's basketball team's journey to the Final Four in Houston for FAU Owls Nest during March Madness, consistently striving to grow as a sports journalist.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Chet Holmgren grabbed the attention of fans with a social media post following the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/thunder-news-shai-gilgeous-alexander-applauds-front-office-nba-title">Oklahoma City Thunder’s NBA Finals victory</a>.</p><p>Holmgren had a solid performance in the deciding Game 7 on Sunday night. In 31 minutes of action, he finished with 18 points, eight rebounds, five blocks, and a steal. He shot 6-of-8 from the field, including 1-of-2 from beyond the arc, and 5-of-8 from the free-throw line.</p><p>He helped the Thunder win their first NBA title since 1979, when they used to be the Seattle Supersonics. As a co-star alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams, the trio proved to be successful as they cemented themselves in NBA championship history.</p><p>Holmgren made a social media post via Instagram on Monday, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DLQz_h6vvP2/?e=324c7ecb-2527-45be-b178-240a66a42254&amp;g=5" rel="noopener">making a direct reference</a> to the Thunder’s seven-game series win in emojis.</p><p>“⚡️ in 🎰,” Holmgren included in the post, with the emojis referring to ‘Thunder in seven.’</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/DLQz_h6vvP2/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading"><div style="padding: 16px;"><p> </p><div style="display: flex;"><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div><div style="display: flex;"><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div><div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"><div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div><div style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 14px;"><div><div></div><div></div><div></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div><div></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"><div></div><div></div><div></div></div></div><div style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 24px;"><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"></div><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; width: 144px;"></div></div><p> </p><p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DLQz_h6vvP2/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" rel="noopener" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Chet Holmgren (@chet_holmgren)</a></p></div></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p></figure><h2><b>What’s next for Chet Holmgren, Thunder</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Oklahoma-City-Thunder-forward-Chet-Holmgren-Thunder-guard-Luguentz-Dort.jpg"><figcaption>Kyle Terada-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Three years into his career, and Chet Holmgren is already a champion with the Thunder. Can’t get much better than that.</p><p>Holmgren rehabbed through a leg injury that sidelined him for the 2022-23 season. This didn’t stop him from showing his potential as he played the entire 2023-24 regular season, impressing with his shooting and shot-blocking talents.</p><p>Injuries appeared once again for Holmgren as he missed 50 games this past season. Despite this, he was healthy for the entire postseason run to the NBA Finals. He averaged 15.2 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game throughout the 23 playoff games he took part in. He shot 46.2% from the field, including 29.7% from downtown, and 78.4% from the charity stripe.</p><p>Holmgren did not have the best of performances throughout the NBA Finals. The Pacers gave him trouble as their firepower offense was difficult for him to keep up at times. However, despite Indiana’s efforts, the young big man persevered and helped the Thunder prevail in the end. And he made sure to end the season on a strong note.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Thunder’s Chet Holmgren grabs attention with IG post after NBA Finals

<!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', '/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-jalen-williams-chet-holmgren-line-247-million-contract-extensions');   ga('set', 'title', 'Thunder’s Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren in line for $247 million contract extensions');   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/2025/06/Thunder-All-Star-Jalen-Williams-Thunders-Chet-Holmgren.jpg"><figcaption>Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Thunder’s Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren in line for $247 million contract extensions</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-23T16:10:27-07:00">June 23rd, 4:10pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-23T16:10:27-07:00">June 23rd, 4:10pm</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 — Fresh off their first NBA championship, the future looks brighter than ever for Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren. Wrapping up their third NBA season by helping the Thunder win its first title in franchise history, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-what-moved-jalen-williams-tears-final-buzzer-sounded-game-7">Williams was driven to tears after Game 7</a>. Then, after many setbacks that extend beyond this season, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-how-chet-holmgren-injury-battle-makes-nba-title-even-more-sweet">Holmgren explained the significance of becoming a champion</a>.</p><p>Perhaps the two most important players alongside Thunder All-Star and league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams and Holmgren are vital to Oklahoma City making the most of its championship window. Williams and Holmgren, the two first-round draft mates of 2022 are also <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/44588112/nba-offseason-2025-draft-free-agency-trade-targets-30-teams" rel="noopener">due for a big pay day</a>, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks.</p><p>“Holmgren and Williams are eligible to sign up to a five-year, $247 million extension. The total value could increase to $296 million if MVP, All-NBA and Defensive Player of the Year escalator clauses are included,” Marks wrote. “The increase in salary will only occur if either player reaches one of the three criteria for the 2025-26 season.”</p><p>Williams, who made the Second All-NBA Team this season, will see an increase up to $296 million. When healthy, Holmgren could reach his first All-NBA selection next season.</p><p>“Holmgren’s first three seasons have been mired by injuries. Though he played all 82 games last season, Holmgren missed his rookie campaign because of a right foot injury and played only 32 games (he missed 41 games because of a pelvic fracture) this season,” Marks added. “When he was available, Holmgren was impactful on both ends of the court. He ranked second, behind only Gilgeous-Alexander, in plus-minus and led all players in contested field goal percentage. He trailed only the Pacers’ Myles Turner in blocked shots in the postseason.”</p><p>Holmgren and Williams are aligned to join the likes of Indiana Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton, Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star Anthony Edwards, Charlotte Hornets’ LaMelo Ball, Detroit Pistons All-Star Cade Cummingham, and others, who agreed to rookie maximum extensions over the past two seasons.</p><h2><b>How Chet Holmgren’s injury battle makes Thunder title sweeter</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Thunder-forward-Chet-Holmgren-1-6.jpg"><figcaption>Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Thunder forward Chet Holmgren admitted the 2024-25 campaign was physically taxing. Recovering from a hip injury that forced Holmgren to miss 50 regular-season games was a long meticulous process that eventually led to his availability ahead of a championship run.</p><p>“I’m proud of the guys for holding it down when I was hurt” Holmgren said. “I gotta give props to them, especially J-Will.”</p><p>Thunder’s Jaylin Williams saw an uptick in minutes in Holmgren’s absence, while starters Jalen Williams and Isaiah Hartenstein also split time at center.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Thunder’s Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren in line for $247 million contract extensions

<!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', '/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-how-chet-holmgren-injury-battle-makes-nba-title-even-more-sweet');   ga('set', 'title', 'How Thunder forward Chet Holmgren’s injury battle makes NBA title even more sweet');   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/2025/06/Thunder-forward-Chet-Holmgren_1834f2.jpg"><figcaption>Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>How Thunder forward Chet Holmgren’s injury battle makes NBA title even more sweet</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-23T09:23:00-07:00">June 23rd, 9:23am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-23T09:23:00-07:00">June 23rd, 9:23am</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 — After winning the 2025 NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers, 4-3, Oklahoma City Thunder forward <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunders-chet-holmgren-drops-the-mic-with-awesome-nba-finals-speech">Chet Holmgren delivered a memorable line amidst celebrating</a> the franchise’s first championship. It was related to his hip injury sustained during the regular season and the lengthy road to recovery that followed. Holmgren missed 50 games, returning in February, which gave the Thunder a significant boost through the postseason.</p><p>After finishing with 18 points, eight rebounds, and five blocks in Game 7’s 103-91 win against the Pacers, clinching an NBA title, Holmgren <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckGhOW8GvFI" rel="noopener">reflected on the dark days</a> of the regular season.</p><p>“Before I got hurt feels like a whole different season. Just so long. We’ve been at this since October,” Holmgren said. “We didn’t take any breaks last summer.”</p><p>Thunder centers Jaylin Williams and Isaiah Hartenstein filled the void left in Holmgren’s absence.</p><p>“I’m proud of the guys for holding it down when I was hurt. I gotta give props to them, especially J-Will. They came in and held things down when I was hurt. It’s almost as if we didn’t skip a beat, and a lot of things changed for them personally, individually, when I came back,” Holmgren said. “So, I have to give them all the credit in the world because they never expressed any sour feelings about it.</p><p>“They never stepped outside of the team about it. They were all in no matter what it took, and I’m just so happy to have guys like that in our big man realm that are so selfless,” Holmgren concluded.</p><p>From the outset, the initial process of recovering from a pelvic injury wasn’t easy for Holmgren.</p><p>“It sucked. If you told me this would be the endpoint when I got hurt, it would be easy not to quit. But this isn’t guaranteed. That’s why only one team gets to do it every year,” Holmgren added. “So I’m so happy I didn’t quit. There were a lot of nights when I was out there on willpower and anti-inflammatories. I’m just so happy I didn’t quit and we made it, and we did it.”</p><h2><b>Chet Holmgren delivers his promise in Thunder’s Game 7 win</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Thunder-forward-Chet-Holmgren-2_ff7c21.jpg"><figcaption>Kyle Terada-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Thunder forward <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-chet-holmgren-makes-big-promise-bounce-back-game-7">Chet Holmgren guaranteed a bounce-back performance</a> in Game 7 against the Pacers. After finishing with four points and six rebounds in Game 6, Holmgren turned in one of his better games of the 2025 NBA Finals. He made NBA Finals history.</p><p>Holmgren’s five blocks against the Pacers set an NBA record for most blocked shots in Game 7 of the NBA Finals.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

How Thunder forward Chet Holmgren’s injury battle makes NBA title even more sweet

<!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', '/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunders-chet-holmgren-drops-the-mic-with-awesome-nba-finals-speech');   ga('set', 'title', 'Thunder’s Chet Holmgren drops the mic with awesome NBA Finals speech');   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/2025/06/Chet-1.jpg"><figcaption>Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Thunder’s Chet Holmgren drops the mic with awesome NBA Finals speech</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-22T21:25:02-07:00">June 22nd, 9:25pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-22T21:25:02-07:00">June 22nd, 9:25pm</time><address><a>Miguel La Torre</a>Miguel La Torre is a lifelong sports junkie and seasoned sports writer whose passion for the game has been with him since childhood. A former soccer player turned dedicated runner, he's now chasing his dream of completing all seven major world marathons. Miguel is also a proud Utah Jazz believer, a passionate Manchester United and Real Madrid supporter, and loyal Novak Djokovic fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Thunder’s Chet Holmgren drops the mic with awesome NBA Finals speech

<!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', '/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-chet-holmgren-nba-finals-game-7-history');   ga('set', 'title', 'Chet Holmgren makes wild NBA Finals Game 7 history');   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/2025/06/IMG_1714.jpeg"><figcaption>Kyle Terada-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Chet Holmgren makes wild NBA Finals Game 7 history</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-22T20:00:52-07:00">June 22nd, 8:00pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-22T20:00:52-07:00">June 22nd, 8:00pm</time><address><a>David Yapkowitz</a>David Yapkowitz is an NBA Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He is a credentialed reporter based in Los Angeles who covers the NBA/WNBA, NCAA/NCAAW and boys/girls high school basketball.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>As the Oklahoma City Thunder inch closer to winning an NBA championship, they have Chet Holmgren to thank for that. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunders-chet-holmgren-earns-major-praise-for-game-4-defense">Chet Holmgren has been a game-changing force on the defensive</a> end in the NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers, and in Game 7 he <a href="https://x.com/statmuse/status/1936975939923013902" rel="noopener">set a Finals record</a> with blocks, as per StatMuse.</p><p>With five blocks in Game 7, Chet Holmgren set a new NBA record for most blocked shots in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. Coming into Game 7, the previous record holders were both Kevin Garnett and Marvin Webster with four blocked shots. Garnett accomplished that feat with the Boston Celtics and Webster reached that mark with the Seattle Sonics.</p><p>Ironically, the Thunder were once the Sonics before their move to Oklahoma City. But since the Thunder do not claim the Sonics’ history, Webster’s accomplishment is not a part of the franchise lore.</p><p>After <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunders-chet-holmgren-opens-up-about-brutal-hip-injury-recovery">suffering a hip injury</a> that sidelined him for a major portion of the regular season, Holmgren returned to the lineup with a major bounce back to help lead the Thunder to the NBA Finals. He appeared in a total of 32 games in the regular season at a little over 27 minutes per game. He averaged 15.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.2 blocked shots with splits of 49 percent shooting from the field, 37.9 percent shooting from the three-point line and 75.4 percent shooting from the free-throw line.</p><p>During the Thunder’s playoff run coming into Game 7, Holmgren had been playing a little over 29 minutes per game and taking around 11 shot attempts per game. He was averaging 15.0 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.7 blocked shots with splits of 45.3 percent shooting from the field, 29.2 percent shooting from the three-point line and 79.8 percent shooting from the free-throw line.</p><p>In Game 7 against the Pacers, Holmgren finished with 18 points, eight rebounds, one steal and five blocked shots in a little over 31 minutes. He shot 6-of-8 from the field, 1-of-2 from the three-point line and 5-of-8 from the free-throw line.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2024-25 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
15.0	8.0	2.0	2.2	0.7

2024-25 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
15.0	8.0	2.0	2.2	0.7

Chet Holmgren news

Chet
Holmgren news