The 2023-24 NBA season is upon us, and the Oklahoma City Thunder's Chet Holmgren, after a year-long wait, has made his NBA debut against the Chicago Bulls. While Holmgren did look good scoring his first NBA basket, the play of the game may be Bulls center Andre Drummond welcoming Holmgren to the NBA with a strip steal before breaking his ankles with a filthy crossover on the other end.

Drummond's calling card has traditionally been defense and rebounding, not open-court thievery and a Tim Hardaway-esque crossover. But it's apparently never too late for an old dog to learn new tricks. While the Bulls likely won't be putting Drummond in space on the perimeter any time soon, he gave Bulls fans a stellar highlight on opening night and likely taught Holmgren a lesson about protecting the ball in the backcourt and staying in front of his man.

Despite the embarrassment of the play, Holmgren has plenty of reason to feel optimistic about the 2023-24 season. He had a strong preseason and showed why the Thunder made him the second overall pick of the 2022 draft. Missing all of last season had to be difficult for him, but it may have been a blessing in disguise, giving Holmgren an opportunity to slowly rehab and add some muscle to his thin frame.

While Chet Holmgren is expected to blossom into a star-caliber player for many years to come, for this night at least, Andre Drummond got to say “Welcome to the NBA, rookie.”