Chet Holmgren’s offseason didn’t produce the kind of physical answer Oklahoma City was hoping for.
After last season’s Western Conference Finals collapse against Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs, Holmgren went into the summer with plenty of eyes on him. The criticism was blunt: Wembanyama had bullied him on both ends, and by Game 7 Holmgren had taken only two shots while rarely lining up against him defensively.
There were training clips, plenty of them, and they gave the impression that Holmgren was attacking the problem head-on. But when the Thunder released their official training camp roster on Sunday, the numbers told a quieter story. Holmgren is listed at 215 pounds, up only two from last year’s 213.
That’s not much of a jump when the measuring stick is Wembanyama, who is listed at 240 on San Antonio’s camp roster. Wembanyama also has three inches on Oklahoma City’s 7-footer, and that combination of height and weight clearly mattered in the series. Holmgren was so often pulled away from the matchup that the Thunder had to lean on Isaiah Hartenstein to handle most of the Wemby work, while Holmgren was pushed farther from the rim.
The result was a muted version of one of Holmgren’s best traits. His shot-blocking presence never fully got to show up, and his 1.1 blocks in the seven-game series fell well below his career average.
A two-pound gain doesn’t really change the equation. Holmgren will still likely be the lighter, less physical option in that matchup, which leaves Hartenstein stuck in the middle of the storm again if Oklahoma City wants to keep Wembanyama from having his way.
That’s the strange part of Holmgren’s profile. He’s 7-foot-1 and just finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting, so on most nights he looks like a natural answer at the five. Against Wembanyama, though, the Thunder have had to move him away from the paint.
Maybe that changes with the first-round addition of Aday Mara. Holmgren has spent the last few years getting more comfortable at the four, and this could be the season Oklahoma City makes that move permanent. If that happens, it would at least free Holmgren from the Wemby assignment and put him in a spot where his length and mobility can work against bigger forwards instead.
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