Shai Gilgeous-Alexander may be the face of and overall best player on this world champion OKC Thunder team, but he’s by no means the final piece to unlocking their full potential.<\/p>\n
To Sam Vecenie of The Athletic, that person would be Chet Holmgren.<\/p>\n
During a recent episode<\/a> of the Game Theory Podcast, the Senior Writer took viewers back to the 2022 NBA Draft, when Oklahoma City opted to select Holmgren with the second overall pick over other top-billed prospects like Jabari Smith and Jaden Ivey.<\/p>\n Discussing the perceived reasoning behind their decision-making on the night, Vecenie shared that, if he were a betting man, he’d say that even if the Thunder had the top pick, they still would have coveted the Gonzaga product to, as he put it, assemble a lineup that’s best suited to the style of play they wanted to implement.<\/p>\n “I would guess that they would take Chet… at number one over Paolo [Banchero], and it’s because they wanted the five-out guy at the five to consistently be able to get to their spots and be able to win in the way that they wanted to play,” Vecenie said.<\/p>\n Chet Holmgren at center unlocks desired offensive approach for Thunder<\/p>\n Throughout his career with the Thunder, Holmgren has undoubtedly established himself as one of the most promising young bigs the game has to offer. <\/p>\n As far as their five-out offensive approach is concerned, when the 23-year-old has been on the floor, as a team, Oklahoma City has shot 38.1<\/a> and 39.5 percent<\/a> from distance, respectively, while he’s cashed in on 37.2 percent of his own perimeter shots along the way.<\/p>\n It’s no secret that having a seven-footer who can stretch all the way out to beyond the arc is a coveted luxury to have within a team’s rotation in the modern era of play. Fortunately for the Thunder, they just locked down<\/a> Holmgren’s abilities to do so through the 2030-31 season.<\/p>\n Now, of course, the primary lineup that helped lead the organization to their first championship since 1979 had Chet playing the four and Isaiah Hartenstein serving as the primary five. <\/p>\n However, this structure is likely only to last for just one more season, as I-Hart’s third and final year under contract in 2026-27 holds a club-option and, with fears of tax penalties at play, he’s expected to be a cap casualty in their efforts to avoid the dreaded second apron.<\/p>\n As a result, following this coming campaign, rotations with Holmgren manning the middle will almost certainly prove to be far more utilized. <\/p>\n