Victor Wembanyama Might Have All The Hype Heading Into Next Season, But Let's Not Forget That Chet Holmgren Is Coming Too
Gregory Shamus. Getty Images.There are plenty of reasons to be excited for the start of the 2023-24 NBA season, which is now officially just a quick 68 days away. Maybe you're a fan of a team that has a legit shot at a title. Maybe you're excited to see a young team make the next step in their rebuild. Maybe you just love basketball and life without it fucking stinks.
When it comes to 2023-24, it's safe to say there's also a pretty substantial amount of excitement surrounding the rookie class. I think we all want to see how Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson look against real NBA competition given all the hype surrounding them the last year or so. Scoot played just one Summer League game out in Vegas and Wemby only played two, so it's not like we've really seen either guy all that much. But you know who else you should be just as excited for? A guy who is technically a "rookie" and who looks poised for a monster season?
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Chet Holmgren. Remember him? He was basically Wembanyama before Wembanyama. Franchises tried to out-tank one another just to bring in a guy who just last summer was considered a franchise altering player. Unfortunately, he fucked his foot up in a summer Pro Am and that was it. Chet was gone for the year.
OKC is a team that I'd say was already on the rise, even without their prized top pick. Their 40 wins last season were the most they've had since the 2019-20 season, SGA has blossomed into a legit All NBA player, their young guys all look like draft pick hits, they have a good coach as well as a ton of draft capital and cap space moving forward. Things are absolutely trending up.
Now, they get to add this to the mix
I remember when Chet was getting compared to KD as a prospect in terms of their overall skill combined with the height and skinny ass frame, so it's a little crazy to see him put KD in hell like that. I know most people consider Wembanyama a lock for Rookie Of The Year, but to me, it feels like we could have another Blake Griffin/Ben Simmons situation on our hands. Sure it might not be totally fair considering Chet had a full year in an NBA program to put on weight/get acclimated to NBA life but whatever. The rules state he's technically a "rookie" and given all the hype he had last summer, I am very intrigued to see how this version of Chet looks in a real NBA game.
If you need even more reasons to be excited, let's not forget how Chet looked earlier this summer out in both Salt Lake City and Vegas
A cool 20.5/9.5/2.5/3.5 on 56% shooting in Vegas and 12.5/10/1.0/3.5 in Salk Lake. Given he's had the last year to put more muscle on his frame, it's going to be interesting to see how that holds up during the year given that was one of the main worries people had. Chet's rim protection is no joke as is, and I don't think it's crazy to suggest that inserting him into the lineup can get OKC into a Top 10 caliber defense (they were 13th last year). Usually, when teams make a leap like the Thunder are trying to do, it starts with taking a step forward on the defensive end. Add in what he should bring to a team that ranked 16th in the league offensively, and I can't wait to see how it all looks.
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So while guys like Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson may be getting most of the hype of this rookie class heading into 2023-24, it almost feels as if Chet has been flying a bit under the radar. Maybe that's perfect for an OKC team that also sort of flew under the radar during the 2022-23 season.
Just don't be surprised if both break out this season. OKC being good enough to get into the Top 6 and avoid the Play In and Chet winning ROY would be pretty fun to see.