There appears to be no stopping the ascent of the young Oklahoma City Thunder squad. Entering the 2023-24 season with higher expectations brought forth by a better-than-expected 2022-23 season, the Thunder have looked scary to begin the year, especially with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continuing to play at the All-NBA First-Team level he was at last year. On Wednesday night alone, Gilgeous-Alexander was dominant, dropping 43 points, seven rebounds, and six assists as the Thunder took a 128-120 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

But one of the main reasons the Thunder have looked like a much more complete team this season is the much-awaited arrival of Chet Holmgren. Holmgren, as one would recall, missed the entirety of last season after suffering a Lisfranc injury. But now, Holmgren has been everything the Thunder hoped he would be and more, filling the team's need for an elite rim protector, not to mention his utility as a solid pick-and-pop threat and as a playmaking big on the move.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander knows just how great Holmgren has been to begin his career, revealing after the Thunder's win over the Cavs what it is exactly that makes the 21-year old big man such an incredible piece to have for them.

“We added a really good basketball player. On both ends of the floor. Chet’s special… He plays with a chip on his shoulder,” Gilgeous-Alexander said in his postgame presser, via Brandon Rahbar of Daily Thunder.

Calling Chet Holmgren a “really good basketball player” is definitely an understatement from the Thunder star. Holmgren has already looked like a transformative presence for OKC, particularly on the defensive end, as he's not just a paint-bound rim protector. He is also mobile enough to come up to the point of the screen, hedging dangerous pull-up threats, while his sheer size makes him tough to score on when he's on drop coverage.

Once Holmgren fully realizes his two-way potential, it's hard to tell just how lofty the heights the Thunder center can reach. And with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leading the team for the foreseeable future, better things are surely yet to come for an OKC team that's slowly inching towards the light at the end of their rebuilding tunnel.