Chet Holmgren scored a basket while being fouled while driving to the hoop in the second quarter in Salt Lake City. Holmgren collapsed to the ground and spread his long arms out across the court as the ball was going through the net.
The rookie for the Thunder appeared to be worn out. He had cuts and bruises all over his body. However, he had returned.
In his first competitive game in a year and in his first game after undergoing surgery for a Lisfranc injury in his right foot, Holmgren fought through early rust in the first quarter before getting into a rhythm. This game was also Holmgren’s first game following the operation.
In the opening game of the Salt Lake Summer League on Monday night, the Thunder defeated the Jazz 95-85, but the score was secondary to Holmgren’s long-awaited return to the Thunder bench.
Holmgren remarked that “it’s great just to be able to be in an actual game again for the last 11 months, or whatever it’s been,” referring to the length of time since their last contest. “The only true competition I’ve had is with myself, and that’s just to stay in it. I feel like I followed everything to the letter, so I guess you could say that this is some kind of recompense for that.”
Chet Holmgren on his return pic.twitter.com/Wy3G6c3oCZ
— Joe Mussatto (@joe_mussatto) July 4, 2023
The 7-foot-1 center got the start and logged 29 minutes of playing time. All but one of his shots came from within the three-point line, and he finished with 15 points on 6-of-14 shooting from the field. From the free throw line, Holmgren shot a 3 for 6 percentage. He also had two assists to go along with his nine rebounds.
The defensive end was where Holmgren had the majority of his successes as a coach. It was halfway through the fourth quarter when he blocked a shot, making it his fourth stop of the game overall. As a side note, Holmgren made his debut in the Salt Lake City Summer League the previous year with six blocks.
Jalen Williams, a guard with the Thunder, commented that having Holmgren around made paint protection a lot simpler. “It makes paint protection very easy,” Williams stated. Everyone gains a significant amount of confidence as a result, which allows them to stand taller and protect their man more effectively.
When Holmgren was on the court, the Thunder had a 13-point advantage against the Jazz in scoring.
Holmgren stated, “The last thing I wanted to do was come out here and be timid,” and it was the last thing he wanted to do. “I wanted to come out of the gates and be aggressive, and I was looking for a way to have an influence on the game.
“It is obvious that, while doing it, you have the potential to make mistakes or miss shots. It doesn’t matter if you’ve just played 100 consecutive games without missing one or if you’ve missed the entirety of a season… that’s simply a part of the game. “Gotta get on the tape, watch that, and see where my mistakes were, so that the next time I don’t have to come out here and take the first quarter to find my rhythm.” “Gotta get on the tape, watch that, and see where my mistakes were.”
The dunk by Tre Mann was the highlight of the show
Is it too soon to give Tre Mann the title of having the greatest dunk in the summer league?
The posterization that Mann committed in the second quarter against Jazzman Micah Potter constituted an act of violence.
Mann started his swing from the left side of the batting crease, cocked his right arm, and then brought the hammer down. To the very top of Potter’s head.
Jalen Williams stated, “That was the craziest dunk I’ve been on the floor for,” and he meant it.
Mann appeared to be pausing the action in slow motion for the benefit of the cameras by giving them an additional tick.
“That’s what it felt like,” Mann said. “That’s what it felt like.”
Mann, who will be entering a crucial third season, went off at the rim and from beyond the three-point line, where he made four of eight for a total of twenty points on the night.
TRE MANN UNREAL POSTER 😱 pic.twitter.com/0fSKvkPJwN
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 4, 2023
Jalen Williams is particularly notable
Jalen Williams scored 21 points at the break, on 8-of-12 shooting from the field.
The runner-up for Rookie of the Year appeared to have more experience than he needed to be playing in Summer League. It’s as if someone invited the bully to the playground in the first place.
“I like playing basketball,” Williams stated, “so it’s just fun to get out there and play when you can… ” be done competing against the coaches for the remainder of the summer at last.
Williams, who was rocking cornrows styled in a different manner, scored the opening nine points of the game for the Thunder.
He scored all of his points before the halftime break while only taking two shots in the second half of the game.
Thunder tip-ins
New members to join Thunder Alongside members of the Thunder’s front office, Vasilije Micic and Jack White sat on the baseline close to where the team’s bench was located.
Cason Wallace is now in Salt Lake City with the club, but he won’t participate in any games until the Las Vegas Summer League since he is waiting for a trade to be finalized so that he can become an official member of the team.
David Akinyooye, who coaches in the Thunder Summer League, currently has a perfect record. Jalen Williams, Jaylin Williams, Ousmane Dieng, Mann, and Holmgren were the players that Akinyooye began. Zhaire Smith, Hunter Maldonado, Jared Butler, and Jaden Shackelford were the players that came off the bench.
On Monday night, Jaylin Williams, who finished the previous NBA season ranked first in the league in drew charges, was given three.
https://t.co/omW0Hxez8M pic.twitter.com/LkccLdaBRD
— Joe Mussatto (@joe_mussatto) July 4, 2023
After the game, Jalen Williams and Keshawn Justice, who had played together at Santa Clara for all three of their collegiate seasons, traded jerseys with one another. After playing five seasons at Santa Clara, the Jazz decided to add Justice, a 6-foot-7 forward, to their summer league team despite the fact that he was not selected.
The lower bowl of the Delta Center was completely full, and there were even spectators occupying seats in the very first rows of the top deck.
Both Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Keyontae Johnson were ruled out for the Thunder before to the contest.
According to a statement released by the Thunder on Monday, third-year center Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and rookie wing Keyontae Johnson will not be participating in the remainder of the Salt Lake City Summer League due to injuries respectively to their right ankles and right hamstrings.
Monday night’s matchup between the Thunder and the Jazz will kick off OKC’s three-game road trip to Salt Lake City. Game time is 8:00 p.m. Neither Robinson-Earl nor Johnson’s participation in the Las Vegas Summer League, which the Thunder will begin on Saturday, has been deemed impossible at this time.
The right ankle of Robinson-Earl has been a source of concern. After spraining his right ankle during the previous season, he was sidelined for a total of 28 games, which is equivalent to missing two months of action. After his comeback, he rotated in and out of the starting lineup.
Recently, Robinson-Earl’s compensation of $1.9 million for this season became guaranteed, and the organization has the option to pay him $2 million for the upcoming season. In the 2021 NBA Draft, Robinson-Earl was selected with the 32nd overall pick.
The debut of Johnson in a Thunder outfit will have to be delayed for the time being. The 50th overall pick in the 2023 draft went to the Thunder, who used it to choose Johnson, a player who attended Florida and Kansas State.
Taylor Hendricks, the No. 9 selection, and Brice Sensabaugh, the No. 28 pick, are both injured and unable to play for the Jazz in Monday night’s game. The Jazz had three first-round picks overall.
FAQ’s
Q1. Has Chet Holmgren played an NBA game yet?
Holmgren, who had never played in an NBA regular season game due to a foot injury sustained during the previous summer, drew “overrated” boos from the Utah fans as he attempted to make free throws in the last minute of regulation.
Q2. What is Chet Holmgren salary?
The average yearly compensation for Chet Holmgren’s four-year deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder is $11,222,312. The total value of the deal is $44,889,248. Holmgren will make $10,386,000 in basic salary in 2023-24; his cap hit will be $10,386,000 and his dead cap value will also be $10,386,000.
