Oklahoma City Thunder rookie Chet Holmgren is out for the 2022-23 season due to Lisfranc injury, but former NBA lottery pick Evan Turner thinks it could benefit him.
Holmgren sustained the foot injury while facing LeBron James during a CrawsOver game in Seattle. While it didn't seem like a big deal initially, the injury took a turn for the worse when it was revealed he had to sit out the whole campaign before it even started.
Of course it was a massive blow to the Thunder who had high expectations on the second overall pick of the 2022 NBA Draft. However, according to Turner, it could be a blessing in disguise for Holmgren since a redshirt year will give him one year of NBA-level training to help him improve his frame and overall game.
“I think it's a big difference because he's only 19 and like we said earlier, his body is still developing. Think about how much of an advantage is going to get like having NBA training, having, you know, NBA workouts, you know, getting his body back healthy and coming back hopefully next year maybe 20 or 25 pounds heavier and fully ready for the NBA,” Turner explained on the Point Forward podcast, via Sportskeeda.
“The NBA game along with like a red shirt year I mean Blake Griffin did it. … That's what I'm saying and to go through a redshirt year in a league where you have no problem and you just keep working out and if they're prepping for you. Man, he's in a great situation because they're building a future based on him.”
True enough, getting injured in your first year isn't the end for Chet Holmgren. If anything, as Turner said, it could help better prepare him for the physicality of the NBA.
But then again, Holmgren needs to focus first on his recovery before thinking of gearing up for the 2023-24 NBA season. Foot injuries are always tricky to deal with, so there's a need to proceed with caution.
Hopefully though, Chet gets healthy sooner rather than later and bounce back with a better game.
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