The Oklahoma City Thunder were hit with some truly horrible news recently when it was announced that they’d be without their biggest new star in the 2022-23 season.
Everyone was eagerly awaiting the regular season debut of Chet Holmgren, the number two pick in the draft and a player many considered a “unicorn”, or someone who was capable of both expert offense and defense.
But then disaster struck: during a pro-am game, Holmgren attempted to block LeBron James and ended up injuring himself.
The injury was so bad, in fact, that he needed surgery and is now being forced to miss all of his first season as he recovers.
Day by day🏁
— chet holmgren (@ChetHolmgren) September 5, 2022
This was pure heartbreak for the Thunder, who saw great things in their future because of Holmgren, his skills, and the way he’d work with the rest of the young squad.
But Holmgren is keeping his eyes on the prize and is remaining motivated and driven, despite being injured.
He tweeted a simple message: “Day by day” along with a checkered race flag, indicating that eventually he will cross the finish line and be ready to suit up and play for OKC.
That finish line can’t come soon enough for Thunder faithful.
Holmgren Healing
The Thunder knew that Holmgren wouldn’t fix everything wrong with them.
They wouldn’t immediately become Finals contenders overnight with the inclusion of him but they had faith that he could go a long way to advancing them greatly.
He still might, but everyone must wait yet another year to find out.
In the meantime, the team will look nearly identical to how it did last year.
That’s not great news because the team suffered greatly all season long and wasn’t even close to the playoffs.
So, the upcoming season won’t be a great one for the Thunder but perhaps it’ll give the crew more time to come together, find a style that works, and get stronger and better in preparation for Holmgren’s anticipated return.
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