Chet Thomas Holmgren ( ; born May 1, 2002) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for the

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Confer ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA). A consensus five-star recruit and the top-ranked player of the 2021 class, Holmgren played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

Gonzaga Bulldogs The Gonzaga Bulldogs (), also known unofficially as the Zags, are the intercollegiate athletic teams representing Gonzaga University, located in Spokane, Washington, United States. Gonzaga competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association ...

and was drafted second overall by the Thunder in the

2022 NBA draft The 2022 NBA draft (branded as the 2022 NBA Draft presented by State Farm for sponsorship reasons), the 76th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual NBA draft, draft, was held on June 23, 2022, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New ...

. He stands and plays the

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

and

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...

positions.

Early life and career

Holmgren was born on May 1, 2002, in

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

, Minnesota. He grew up playing basketball under the tutelage of his father, Dave Holmgren, who stands tall and played college basketball for the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

from 1984 to 1988. In sixth grade, Holmgren began attending

Minnehaha Academy Minnehaha Academy (often abbreviated MA) is a Christian private school in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, for students in preschool through 12th grade, and established in 1913. There are two campuses, the South Campus for preschool t ...

, a Christian private school in Minneapolis. He stood at the time and was teammates with current

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NB ...

guard

Jalen Suggs Jalen Rashon Suggs (born June 3, 2001) is an American player for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Gonzaga Bulldogs. He was selected by the Magic with the fifth overall pick in th ...

, whom he played alongside through high school. Holmgren improved his shooting range while recovering from a broken right wrist during his first season. By ninth grade, he had grown to .

High school career

As a freshman at Minnehaha Academy, Holmgren averaged 6.2 points and three rebounds per game. His team won its second straight Class 2A state championship. In his sophomore season, Holmgren averaged 18.6 points and 11 rebounds per game and led his team to another Class 2A state title. After the season, he had success with his

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It h ...

team Grassroots Sizzle at the Under Armour Association, earning tournament

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

honors. As a result, he emerged as one of the highest ranked players in the 2021 class and started receiving more

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

interest. In August 2019, Holmgren attracted national attention for crossing over NBA superstar

Stephen Curry Wardell Stephen Curry II ( ; born March 14, 1988) is an American professional basketball player and point guard for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Chef Curry", he is widely regarded as the ...

at Curry's own SC30 Select Camp. On January 4, 2020, as a junior, Holmgren recorded nine points, 10 rebounds, and 12 blocks in a nationally televised victory over

Sierra Canyon School Sierra Canyon School (SCS) is a private, coeducational university-preparatory day school located in Los Angeles, California. Sierra Canyon enrolls students in preschool through grade 12. Sierra Canyon School is accredited by the California A ...

, a nationally ranked team featuring

Bronny James LeBron Raymone "Bronny" James Jr. (born October 6, 2004) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A consensus four-star recruit, James was named a McDonald's All-Ame ...

, Brandon Boston Jr., and Ziaire Williams. In his junior season, he averaged 14.3 points per game, leading Minnehaha to a 25–3 record. As a senior, averaging 21 points and 12.3 rebounds, Holmgren won the Class 3A state title, his fourth state championship at Minnehaha. He was named Mr. Basketball USA,

Gatorade National Player of the Year The Gatorade Player of the Year awards are given annually to up and coming high school student-athletes in the United States. They are given for boys baseball, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls cross country, boys football, boys and girl ...

Naismith Prep Player of the Year The Naismith Prep Player of the Year award, named for Canadian basketball inventor James Naismith, is given annually by the Atlanta Tipoff Club to high school basketball's top male and female player. The inaugural awards were given to Dennis Sco ...

Morgan Wootten National Player of the Year The McDonald's All-American Game is an American all-star basketball game played each year for boys' and girls' high school basketball graduates. Consisting of the top players, each team plays a single exhibition game after the conclusion of the hi ...

, a

McDonald's All-American McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American multinational fast food chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese chain Mixue Ice Cream & Tea. Brothers ...

, and

Minnesota Mr. Basketball Minnesota Mr. Basketball is an annual award recognizing excellence in Minnesota boys' high school basketball. The female equivalent is Minnesota Miss Basketball. The award's legitimacy was challenged in February 2017 when Henry Sibley, Minnesota ...

Recruiting

Entering his junior season, Holmgren had about 30 scholarship offers from college basketball programs. In June 2020, after the reclassification of

Jonathan Kuminga Jonathan Malangu Kuminga (born October 6, 2002) is a Congolese professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A consensus five-star recruit and the top small forward in the 2021 class, ...

, he became the number one player in the 2021 class, according to

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

. On April 19, 2021, Holmgren announced his commitment and signed a

National Letter of Intent The National Letter of Intent (NLI) is a document used to indicate a student athlete's commitment to participating in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) colleges and universities in the United States. The NCAA Eligibility Center manag ...

to play college basketball for

Gonzaga Gonzaga may refer to: Places *Gonzaga, Lombardy, commune in the province of Mantua, Italy *Gonzaga, Cagayan, municipality in the Philippines *Gonzaga, Minas Gerais, town in Brazil *Forte Gonzaga, fort in Messina, Sicily Surname *House of Gonza ...

, following his former high school teammate

College career

In his college debut, Holmgren tallied 14 points, 13 rebounds, seven blocks, and six assists in a 97–63 victory over Dixie State. He became the first player in 25 years to record at least 10 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, and five blocks in his debut. On November 22, the seven-foot freshman finished with 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting and 3 for 3 at the free-throw line. At the conclusion of the regular season, Holmgren was named

West Coast Conference The West Coast Conference (WCC) — known as the California Basketball Association from 1952 to 1956 and then as the West Coast Athletic Conference until 1989 — is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I consisting o ...

Defensive Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year. At the NCAA tournament, Holmgren recorded 19 points, 17 rebounds, seven blocks and five assists in their 93–72 opening-round victory over

Georgia State Georgia State University (Georgia State, State, or GSU) is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1913, it is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities. It is also the second large ...

. As a freshman, he averaged 14.1 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 3.7 blocks per game. On April 21, 2022, Holmgren declared for the

, forgoing his remaining college eligibility.

Professional career

Oklahoma City Thunder (2022–present)

Draft year injury (2022–2023)

Holmgren was selected by the

with the second overall pick in the

, making him the highest-selected draft pick ever taken out of Gonzaga and the highest-drafted pick from the state of Minnesota, topping Kevin McHale, who was taken third overall in

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

. Holmgren joined the Thunder's

2022 NBA Summer League The 2022 NBA Summer League, also branded as the NBA 2K23 Summer League 2022, was an off-season competition held by the National Basketball Association (NBA) primarily at the Thomas and Mack Center and Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada on the cam ...

roster. In his Summer League debut, Holmgren scored 23 points with seven rebounds, four assists, and six blocks in a 98–77 win against the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the ...

. He also broke the record for the most blocks in a single Summer League game. On July 5, 2022, Holmgren signed a rookie-scale contract with the Thunder. However, on August 25, it was announced that he would miss the entire

2022–23 NBA season The 2022–23 NBA season was the 77th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The regular season began on October 18, 2022, and ended on April 9, 2023. The 2023 NBA All-Star Game was played on February 19, 2023, at Vivint Arena i ...

due to a

Lisfranc injury A Lisfranc injury, also known as Lisfranc fracture, is an injury of the foot in which one or more of the metatarsal bones are displaced from the tarsus. The injury is named after Jacques Lisfranc de St. Martin, a French surgeon and gynecolog ...

in his foot that occurred during a Pro-am game.

All-Rookie honors and first playoffs (2023–2024)

On October 25, 2023, Holmgren made his NBA regular-season debut, putting up 11 points and four rebounds in a 124–104 win over the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

. On October 27, Holmgren put up 16 points, 13 rebounds, and seven blocks in a 108–105 win over the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

, breaking the franchise record for most blocks in a single game by a rookie. On November 18, Holmgren put up a career-high 36 points along with 10 rebounds, five assists, two steals, two blocks, and two three-pointers in a 130–123 overtime win over the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

. He also joined

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player, who is currently a minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Ass ...

as the only rookies in NBA history to put up at least 35 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, two steals, one block, and two three-pointers made in a game. On December 4, Holmgren was named the Western Conference Rookie of the Month for games played in October/November. On April 25, Holmgren led the Thunder to a 124–92 Game 2 win over the

New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Confere ...

in the first round, recording 26 points and seven rebounds. He became the first rookie in NBA playoff history to score 25 or more points and put up a +25 plus/minus ratio in a game, and was the first rookie in Thunder franchise history to score at least 25 points and grab five rebounds in the playoffs. Oklahoma City would go on to lose to the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...

in six games in the Western Conference Semifinals, despite Chet Holmgren’s 21 points in the 117–116 closeout loss in Game 6.

Injury and first Finals appearance (2024–2025)

On November 10, 2024, in a game against the

, Holmgren took a hard fall on his right side after challenging an

Andrew Wiggins Andrew Christian Wiggins (born February 23, 1995) is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected with the first overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft by the Clevelan ...

drive. He was subsequently diagnosed with a right iliac wing fracture in his pelvis and returned to play on February 7, 2025.

National team career

Holmgren represented the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

at the

2021 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup The 2021 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup (Latvian: 2021. gada FIBA Pasaules kauss basketbolā līdz 19 gadu vecumam) was the 15th edition of the FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup, the biennial international men's youth basketball championshi ...

in Latvia. He averaged 11.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.7 blocks per game, leading his team to a gold medal, and earned tournament MVP honors.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

, 82 , , bgcolor=cfecec, 82* , , 29.4 , , .530 , , .370 , , .793 , , 7.9 , , 2.4 , , .6 , , 2.3 , , 16.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 32 , , 32 , , 27.4 , , .490 , , .375 , , .754 , , 8.0 , , 2.0 , , .7 , , 2.2 , , 15.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 114 , , 114 , , 28.9 , , .519 , , .372 , , .780 , , 7.9 , , 2.3 , , .7 , , 2.3 , , 16.1

Playoffs

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, 10 , , 10 , , 34.5 , , .496 , , .260 , , .758 , , 7.2 , , 2.1 , , .7 , , 2.5 , , 15.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 10 , , 10 , , 34.5 , , .496 , , .260 , , .758 , , 7.2 , , 2.1 , , .7 , , 2.5 , , 15.6

College

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, 32 , , 31 , , 26.9 , , .607 , , .390 , , .717 , , 9.9 , , 1.9 , , .8 , , 3.7 , , 14.1

Player profile

Listed as a

, many observers note that the lanky Holmgren is a versatile player who moves, handles, shoots, and jumps fluidly and deftly, more like a guard than a big man. His vertical and running leaps are much stronger than average for a center or

, and his

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingsp ...

contributes to his standout blocking and rebounding abilities. Holmgren plays a strong inner and outer game, with superior

three-point shooting A three-point field goal (also 3-pointer, three, or triple) is a field goal in a basketball game made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc surrounding the basket. A successful attempt is worth three points, in contrast to the two p ...

compared to others of his size and position.

Personal life

Holmgren's father, Dave, played 57 games of college basketball for

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

from 1984 to 1988. Holmgren has two sisters.

References

External links

Gonzaga Bulldogs bioUSA Basketball bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holmgren, Chet 2002 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Minneapolis Centers (basketball) Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball players McDonald's High School All-Americans Oklahoma City Thunder draft picks Oklahoma City Thunder players Power forwards 21st-century American sportsmen