Fans of the Oklahoma City Thunder had high hopes after they nabbed Chet Holmgren with the second pick of the 2022 NBA Draft. A basketball unicorn in every sense of the word, Holmgren has immense potential as a shot-creating big and elite shot-blocker. The 20-year old's skills were in full display back in Summer League, and it appeared as if he would play a crucial part in lifting the Thunder out of the dregs of the NBA this upcoming season.

However, Holmgren suffered a Lisfranc injury before stepping foot on an NBA court, delaying his debut until the 2023-24 season. The silver lining for him is that he's not the first ballyhooed big man prospect to miss his entire rookie year. And no, we're not talking about Greg Oden. It's Philadelphia 76ers MVP candidate Joel Embiid who has gone out of his way to encourage the youngster.

Chet Holmgren revealed to reporters that he and Embiid have been in contact after he asked the 28-year old center for advice on how to approach his year off.

If there's anyone to ask for advice regarding this matter, it's Joel Embiid. Holmgren, as young as he is, is wise to seek counsel from someone who's been in his position before.

“I’ve never had a serious injury in my life. So I had nothing to compare it to.. I didn’t imagine anything like this for sure,” Holmgren said.

In fact, Joel Embiid even missed his first two seasons due to recurring injuries to his foot. Fast forward to 2022 and the Cameroon-native who recently acquired his second and third citizenships is one of the best players in the NBA. Thunder fans will be beyond thrilled if Chet Holmgren ends up becoming anything close to a player of Embiid's caliber.

For now, however, it appears that day is a long ways away, especially with the center out of Gonzaga still unable to put weight on his injured foot.

“I can pretty much work out everything except putting weight on my foot,” Holmgren added.

In addition to Joel Embiid, Chet Holmgren will join Blake Griffin, who recently signed with the Boston Celtics, and former Embiid teammate Ben Simmons as top draft picks who missed their rookie campaigns. Hopefully, with the power of modern medicine, Holmgren's injured foot doesn't prove to be more than a temporary nuisance.