There were a lot of things that frightened Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics. For one, the Oklahoma City Thunder were not backing down in the clutch, unlike the opponents they faced in the last stretch of games. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander started popping off like his life depended on scorching this team alive. Moreover, a new rookie feat was achieved in front of them by Chet Holmgren. No other player, except Jerry Stackhouse, in NBA history has succeeded against them like this since their dark ages during the 1990s.
It took nearly 27 years but Chet Holmgren did it. He becomes Jerry Stackhouse's heir to being the Celtics' rookie nightmare. The Thunder young gun became the second player to record seven assists and four blocks against this historic franchise. Stackhouse was the first to do it on the Eastern Conference rivals Philadelphia 76ers back in 1996, per Sean Grande.
Holmgren was not in the mood to make the Thunder's loss record extend to double digits. He followed suit with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's scoring barrage. This got the team 14 points along with seven dimes. Three boards cleaned up and four blocks rounded out his stat sheet on the defensive end.
Notching a feat like this against a historic franchise that has been competing since the late 2000s is a big accomplishment. Jayson Tatum and his squad were also not letting the Thunder have a cakewalk over them. All of this proves how his legacy can be cemented immediately after the season when he wins the Rookie of the Year award.
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