Shams: Thunder's Chet Holmgren Feared to Have Ligament Damage After Foot Injury
August 24, 2022
Oklahoma City Thunder rookie Chet Holmgren is feared to have suffered ligament damage in his foot, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.
The 20-year-old reportedly will receive additional opinions to determine the severity of the injury.
Holmgren suffered the injury while playing defense against Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James at a recent pro-am:
Nathan Thompson @NathanDThompsonHere's the play where Chet Holmgren got hurt tonight. He was guarding <a href="https://twitter.com/KingJames?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KingJames</a> one-on-one. It's hard to tell how he got hurt. He might have just stepped weirdly. <a href="https://twitter.com/ChetHolmgren?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ChetHolmgren</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/thecrawsover?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@thecrawsover</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/thunder?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#thunder</a> <a href="https://t.co/AzUBYUgnyV">pic.twitter.com/AzUBYUgnyV</a>
Holmgren has been on the national radar since he was at Minnehaha Academy High School. He was the nation's No. 1 college recruit in 2021 by 247Sports' composite rankings and committed to play at Gonzaga.
During his lone season in college, Holmgren was a consensus second-team All-American selection and won WCC Defensive Player of the Year. The seven-footer averaged 14.1 points and 9.9 rebounds to help the Bulldogs reach the Sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament.
After declaring for the 2022 NBA draft, Holmgren was selected with the No. 2 overall pick by the Thunder. He showed impact potential in five summer league games, averaging 14.0 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 2.8 blocks per contest.
The Thunder have been going through a significant roster rebuild for the past two seasons. They are starting to see results with players such as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luguentz Dort and Josh Giddey looking like key pieces for the future.
Holmgren has the potential to be the centerpiece of the entire roster. His injury is a setback, and now the Thunder will wait to see just how big of a setback it is, depending on the final diagnosis.
