In the same week the Los Angeles Lakers acquired Luka Doncic, the Golden State Warriors got Jimmy Butler, and the San Antonio Spurs traded for De'Aaron Fox, it's the Oklahoma City Thunder who may end up with the best deadline addition.
— chet holmgren (@ChetHolmgren) February 6, 2025
After missing 39 games due to a hip fracture, Chet Holmgren was removed from the Thunder's injury report for tomorrow's game against the Toronto Raptors, clearing the way for his return.
It will be his first game since November 10, where he only played five minutes against the Warriors before suffering the accident that sidelined him. He had gotten off to a solid start, up to that point in his sophomore season, averaging 16.4 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.6 blocks on 50.5/37.8/77.6 shooting splits. He joins a deep OKC squad that is off to the NBA's best start this season (40-9), has a top-ten offense (117.8 points per 100 possessions) and leads the league in multiple defensive categories (Points Allowed, FG% Allowed, 3P% Allowed, 2P% Allowed, Turnovers Forced).
Chet Holmgren's return is a game-changer for the Thunder
Not only will the Thunder have their franchise center back, but they'll also have both of their centers healthy for the first time all season, with a returning Holmgren joining Isaiah Hartenstein in the big room. While the latter has had a career year so far, his 11.4 points, 12.2 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.2 blocks are all career-highs, all of it has come in the absence of the former. Hartenstein was out for the first 15 games of the year with a hand injury and has started 28 out of 29 games in Holmgren's absence. Now, he gets to play the role of the best backup big in the NBA, the role he was brought in for.
In Holmgren, the Thunder get a 7-footer who is one of the best defensive anchors, can defend in the perimeter, and can stretch the floor with his shooting and ability to handle the ball. That should bode well for a Thunder team that was a below-average 3-point shooting team since Holmgren went down, a season after being first in 3-point percentage.
However, his biggest impact will be on defense, where the team was already incredible without him and should be even better with him. In the 39 games he missed, OKC ranked second in points allowed with an amalgamation of wings playing as bigs. Now, they get a center that anchored a defense that had a 99.5 defensive rating (would be first by five points) in 265 minutes with him. While the rebounding was a problem for them last season (their 42.0 rebounds per game last year was 27th), the addition of Hartenstein has helped in that department (44.3 rebounds is good for 15th), and a 7-footer averaging one more rebound than he did last season should only amplify it. And, in case they need a third, Jaylin Williams has been solid whenever his number has been called, and they just acquired Daniel Theis from the New Orleans Pelicans.
There are still rotations that will need to be worked on, with Holmgren and Hartenstein splitting minutes and possibly playing together at times, the reps the Thunder's wings got having to play out of position (special shoutout to Jalen Williams and Luguentz Dort) will be key for any playoff run this year and in the future.
The Boston Celtics, for example, won a championship with their main rim protector (Kristaps Porzingis) being out for a while, but once he came back they could defend the perimeter on some possessions while they had good secondary rim protectors (Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White) that could cover for him. It's to be determined if OKC can reach that same success, but they're in prime position to do so.