“Chet Holmgren Had No Problem in Guarding Either Kevin Durant or Joel Embiid”: Victor Oladipo Was Impressed by OKC Thunder Rookie’s Defensive Exploits in Pick-up Games

Oklahoma City Thunder would surely have been a big problem in the West if Chet Holmgren didn’t go out for the season

The Oklahoma City Thunder have opened their 2022-23 pre-season with two straight victories over the Detroit Pistons and the San Antonio Spurs.

Although these wins don’t place them anywhere above the rest of the teams in the solid Western Conference, they are enough to show their intent that they are not going to be a lottery-bound team.

What will they actually do when the season begins is just a few days away for us to know, but if Chet Holmgren didn’t injure himself we’d be pretty sure that this team’s thunderous youngsters would have been a problem.

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Victor Oladipo reveals Chet Holmgren was a problem for Kevin Durant and Joel Embiid

Forget their off days when they are not feeling themselves, and think about who in the league could stop The Slim Reaper and Joel freaking Embiid, when they are hitting their strides? No one.

But a 195-pound, slander 7-footer from Gonzaga was doing quite well against the two offensive juggernauts in the summer pickup games, according to Miami Heat’s Victor Oladipo, who recently made an appearance on JJ Redick’s The Old Man and the Three podcast.

For a 20-year-old guy who has yet to make his NBA debut to get such high praise from an All-Star is a prize in itself.

But if you are able to contest combined 5x scoring champions and 23 years of NBA experience throughout the match in two back-to-back games, then no praise is enough for you.

Will the OKC Thunder tank another season to get their hands on Victor Wembanyama or could they actually compete in the West?

We’d have to wait another season to watch Chet play alongside Shae Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey, and Aleksej Pokusevski and tear star-studded teams apart with their raw talent.

But imagine if they come back for the 2023-24 season with the French sensation Victor Wembanyama who would be the uncontested #1 pick of 2023.

They wouldn’t just be a dynasty of the future, they would literally become contenders right away even if they will be having an average team age of well under 25 years and will still be in the tightly contested Western Conference.

They would be scary! Let’s hope that they compete this season for the sake of the game. But even if they don’t, nobody could raise a finger at them.

Also read: “Keep ya Sanity Russell Westbrook!”: Clippers Star Paul George Tweets Out his Support for the Disgruntled Lakers Guard

About the author

Akash Murty

An Electrical and Electronics Engineer by degree, Akash Murty is an NBA Editor at The SportsRush. Previously a Software Engineer, Murty couldn’t keep himself away from sports, and his knack for writing and putting his opinion forward brought him to the TSR. A big Soccer enthusiast, his interest in basketball developed late, as he got access to a hoop for the first time at 17. Following this, he started watching basketball at the 2012 Olympics, which transitioned to NBA, and he became a fan of the game as he watched LeBron James dominate the league. Him being an avid learner of the game and ritually following the league for around a decade, he now writes articles ranging from throwbacks, and live game reports, to gossip. LA Lakers are his favourite basketball team, while Chelsea has his heart in football. He also likes travelling, reading fiction, and sometimes cooking.

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