On Sunday, June 22, 2025, the OKC Thunder completed their 17-year-long mission since their inaugural season in Oklahoma City by winning the 2025 NBA Championship. Although led by their Batman and Robin duo of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams, respectively, their second overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, Chet Holmgren, played a major role in helping the Thunder win the Finals series in seven games.
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Chet averaged 12.3 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game in the 2025 NBA Finals, with his best games coming in Game 3 — where he recorded 20 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and one steal — and the decisive Game 7, where he posted 18 points, eight rebounds and five blocks.
In a recent Nightcap episode, Hawks legend Joe Johnson identified Holmgren’s rise as the key to the OKC Thunder becoming the league’s next dynasty.
He spoke candidly after cohosts Shannon Sharpe and Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson credited OKC’s depth: “I think y’all make great points, especially about the bench. But to me, if you look at Chet Holmgren, I think he was averaging [12] points throughout this throughout this final run. Tonight, he had 18 points, eight rebounds, and five blocks, and he was six for eight from the field. [He was] very efficient.”
Holmgren showed flashes of brilliance during the Finals, but his play was far from steady. In Game 1 — a heartbreaking loss to the Indiana Pacers on a walk-off jumper by Tyrese Haliburton — Chet shot just 22.2% and finished with six points and six rebounds.
Game 4 saw him struggle again, managing only nine points on 26.7% shooting despite the Thunder win.
He completely vanished in Game 6, scoring four points and grabbing six boards while again shooting just 22.2% from the field. “If he plays well, plus Shai and you got Williams playing well, it’s hard to beat them,” Johnson said. “They just hadn’t got consistent play from Chet Holmgren.”
Johnson doubled down on the big man’s future ceiling as critical to OKC’s long-term hopes. “If he gives him five blocks, he’s giving you 18 to 22 points a night,” he said.
“I think that’s his next ceiling, to where he can be consistent on a night-to-night basis with these guys. That’s what’s going to make him a dynasty and make them hard to beat.”
Currently, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the only player on the team with a long-term extension. His five-year, $172 million deal, signed in 2021, has set him up to ink a new super max extension worth either $293 million over four years this offseason or $380 million over five if he waits until 2026.
While this positions SGA to remain the face of the franchise, the impending financial commitments to Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, Luguentz Dort, and Cason Wallace will spark considerable debate, as it has recently on Fox Sports Radio. The NBA’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement complicates roster retention for small-market contenders.
Ochocinco raised this potential issue for the Thunder’s future: retaining its young core while keeping payroll in check. But, Iso Joe did not flinch.
“I think when you win, you have to go into luxury tax,“ Johnson said. “Everybody gets paid. They’re in a small market, but the fact that they won, you mean to tell me you gonna let one of these cornerstone guys get out of here? You can’t!”
Not everyone agreed. Hall of Famer Bob McAdoo countered with a dose of financial reality. He claimed that the idea of paying luxury tax to keep your roster together is all flowers, but when it actually comes down to it, the owners may be reluctant to pay that much extra money, especially if they’re not making an adequate return due to their market size.
While the debates of OKC’s possible future under the CBA rage on, fans in the Sooner State can rest well knowing that for at least another year, they will be seen as the team to beat in the NBA.
