The Oklahoma City Thunder are among the teams that have taken one of the biggest leaps in the 2023-24 season from last year. They’re currently 11-5 and in second place in the Western Conference standings. A big reason for the Thunder hot start is the star duo of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren. The duo are both franchise cornerstones with Gilgeous-Alexander an MVP candidate and Holmgren with star potential. Although they dropped their recent game, 127-123 against the Philadelphia 76ers, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander revealed postgame via Nick Gallo of Bally Sports Oklahoma, exactly why Holmgren is having a tremendous year so far.

The Thunder selected Chet Holmgren with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. He missed the entirety of the 2022-23 season though due to an injury he suffered while playing in a summer pro am league. As a result, he is technically a rookie still and eligible to win the NBA’s Rookie of the Year Award.

In the loss to the Sixers, Holmgren finished with a team high 33 points, six rebounds and two assists. He shot 13-21 from the field and 5-11 from the three point line. Coming into the game, Holmgren had been averaging 17.1 points per game, 8.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.3 blocked shots with splits of 55.7 percent shooting from the field, 43.4 percent shooting from the three point line and 87.7 percent shooting from the free throw line.

Holmgren is second among rookies in points per game behind only the San Antonio Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama and he ranks in the top eight among rookies for three-point percentage.