After the Golden State Warriors’ narrow loss to the OKC Thunder, veteran star Draymond Green gave his take on OKC’s young core. Green began his assessment by talking about Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who in recent years has established himself as one of the best young scorers in the NBA. When asked about the kind of potential Thunder’s youngsters have, Green had nothing but adulations in store.
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Lauding his leadership qualities, the Warriors veteran referred to Shai as the leader of the young roster. He then went on to talk about Chet Holmgren, who finds himself in the race for ROTY along with Victor Wembanyama.
“[Shai is] First-Team All-NBA last year for a reason. Chet will possibly be a generational player. So you add him to the lineup and then Jalen Williams, guard Jalen Williams is one of the most impressible players with the ball in the NBA,” Green said, as seen in a clip shared on Twitter by Thunder beat writer Brandon Rahbar.
Draymond Green on OKC:
“They got a great head of the snake in Shai. He was 1st Team All NBA last year for a reason.
Chet will possibly be a generational player.
Jalen Williams is one of the most impressive players with the ball in the NBA.”
pic.twitter.com/AOCDi7LE8g— Brandon Rahbar (@BrandonRahbar) December 9, 2023
He seemed particularly impressed with Williams, who is averaging 17.9 points per game in what is his sophomore season. “He can shoot the ball from 3, midrange, get to the rim. At 6 8” he has size, he has strength, he can pass the ball, and so they present their challenges,” the four-time NBA Champion said, concluding his take on the Thunder.
Holmgren continues to impress in what is his rookie season after being out the entirety of the last campaign. He has shot up straight into the conversation for ROTY and produced 21 points and 7 rebounds against the Warriors.
“A lot of times you have to sit down and guard one-on-one, but you still got to keep your shell tight. And I don’t think we did much of a job today,” Green went on, suggesting that the Warriors were themselves responsible for their loss. That has been a bit of a familiar conclusion of late. The Dub Nation has struggled to hold on to leads consistently and once again came up short despite a quick start.
Chet Holmgren is staking his claim to the ROTY award
Holmgren has thus far proved to be more than a worthy competitor to the obvious generational talent that Wembanyama is considered. Victor Wembanyama averages a double-double with 19 points and 10.2 rebounds but is the lone star in a Spurs side that appears doomed for the time being.
Holmgren has become a hugely productive starter in an impressive Thunder team which is off to a 14-7 start this season. Still, Wemby is largely expected to eventually take over the NBA despite for the time being lagging behind his ROTY competitor.
At the same time, while the NBA is entirely a new experience for the French prodigy, Holmgren is technically in his second year with the OKC Thunder. Of course, some will argue that Wemby has also been a pro for many years and is therefore being fairly compared. Whoever ends up as the ROTY winner, one thing is clear. The race is going to be a treat for fans.
