Subscribe
Follow Us
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren couldn't walk for two months after suffering a hip injury 10 games into the regular season. It was a brutal setback for Holmgren, showing signs of an All-Star caliber campaign before he was ultimately sidelined for 50 regular-season games ahead of his return. Heading into his first NBA Finals appearance, Chet opened up about what that process was like in November.
In his first media availability since beating the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference Finals, Holmgren revealed that the monotony of the early days in his recovery wasn't easy.
“You wake up. You do what you can, which isn't a lot. You can eat right, and when I was in that headspace, I didn't really feel like watching basketball,” Holmgren said. “So, I'd wake up, go on my phone, eat, and then I'd take a super long nap. And then, I'd wake up and do that again. Then, I'd go back to sleep. And I had to do that until I could walk. So, it was brutal. Brutal.”
Following up on why Holmgren wasn't in the mood to watch basketball, he specified what was difficult for him to watch during that time.
“I wouldn't say watching basketball. I'd say watching games live, necessarily. I had to take a step back just for a couple of weeks,” Holmgren said. “I was still on YouTube watching hoops, mixtapes, and watching whatever I felt like searching up at the time — pull-ups, and this and that. But live games, I had to take a step back.”
After playing in three games before the All-Star break, Chet gradually returned to the kind of production we saw in his first month of the regular season.
Chet Holmgren talks about his hip injury after Thunder win WCF
Article Continues Below
Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault called his team “idiots” in his speech after winning the Western Conference Finals. Then, Thunder forward Chet Holmgren discussed the hurdles he faced this season, including the devastating hip injury, another setback for the second-year big who just turned 23.
Still, Holmgren bounced back, which he spoke about during the trophy ceremony.
“I wouldn't say it's satisfying,” Holmgren said of reaching the NBA Finals. “It's a step in the journey. We have to enjoy them all. But we still have a series to play. So, we're not done, but I can never take it for granted.”
Holmgren averaged 18.0 points on 56.7% shooting, 6.0 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game against the Timberwolves in the Western Conference Finals.
