Chet Holmgren: The No. 2 overall pick shone in his NBA Summer League debut as he set a record

Choice #2 overall in 2022 NBA The Oklahoma City Thunder project wore blue jersey For the first time on Tuesday in the NBA Summer League.
The summer league is an off-season competition in which difference He mostly plays Rookie, Sophomore and Fringe NBA players to give minutes to develop talent and see who fits and who doesn’t.

In the 98-77 win over the Utah Jazz, Holmgren wowed fans in his 24 minutes on the field, setting records as he went.

The big 20-year-old finished with 23 points – including 4 of 6 attempts from a three-point range – seven rebounds and four assists.

He also finished by six blocks, the most ever in an NBA summer league game.

When he was then told he had broken the record, Holmgren said he wanted more. “Only six? Is that the record? Oh, well, I’m coming to break it again,” he said ESPN . said In his post-match TV interview.

According to ESPN, Holmgren became the first player in summer league history to score at least five blocks and hit four three-pointers.

Playing alongside a wide range of Thunder’s young talents – Josh Giddey, Alekesej Pokusevski, Jaylin Williams and Jalen Williams – Holmgren’s size and shooting ability stood out right away.

The seven-footed player from Gonzaga snapped the paint off his size and displayed some of the cunning offensive skills he’s already learned.

He dunked the ball emphatically to score his first points, hitting a three-point shot against a seven-foot-six-foot Taco Fall, and hitting a lackluster mid-range shot that bore an uncanny resemblance to NBA Hall-of-Famer Dirk Nowitzki.

“Shout out to my teammates for preparing me, talking to me, and putting me in a position to be successful,” Holmgren He saidAnd his arm is around the Jedi.

“Shout out for this guy here,” he said, pointing at the Jedi. “A double double with assists. A great night for him and that helped me a lot.”

Holmgren talks with fellow Jedi.
Jedi was very irritable in his praise of Holmgren. “The hype he came in and the way he played tonight was a big deal for us,” the Australian goalkeeper He said.

“Being such a high-choice, there’s a lot of pressure coming, and he handled it the best he could. He makes my job easy to play with someone like him. He can extend the ground, finish on the edge. He protects me, protects my back on the defensive end. So I love playing with him. It was one match, and the chemistry is getting stronger.”

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The coaching staff at Thunder were also impressed by Holmgren’s debut performance.

“I thought he was really good offensively,” said Cameron Woods, coach of the Thunder’s summer league team. “The thing that impressed me the most with him was the way he played in our good style,” He said.

“Obviously he had a great game, but the most impressive part for me was that he did it in our attacking line. It looked like basketball for a team there and he’s been successful in what we’re doing.”

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