OKLAHOMA CITY — After winning the 2025 NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers, 4-3, Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren delivered a memorable line amidst celebrating 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.

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 reflected on the dark days of the regular season.

“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.”

Thunder centers Jaylin Williams and Isaiah Hartenstein filled the void left in Holmgren’s absence.

“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.

“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.

From the outset, the initial process of recovering from a pelvic injury wasn’t easy for Holmgren.

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“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.”

Chet Holmgren delivers his promise in Thunder’s Game 7 win

Thunder forward Chet Holmgren (7) celebrate after winning game seven of the 2025 NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers at Paycom Center
Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

Thunder forward Chet Holmgren guaranteed a bounce-back performance 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.

Holmgren’s five blocks against the Pacers set an NBA record for most blocked shots in Game 7 of the NBA Finals.