The Oklahoma City Thunder played against the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night in the NBA Summer League.
All eyes were on the game and at the center of it all was Chet Holmgren, the rookie Thunder player who has more than a few fans very intrigued and excited.
Holmgren has been the talk of the Summer League so far so people were eager to see if he would be able to keep up his hot streak.
In the end, Holmgren ended up with 11 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks.
But he didn’t get them easily.
Kenny Lofton Jr. is the same height and weight as Zion Williamson.
Saying Chet will struggle in some matchups due to his weight is fair… but a dude who weighs the same as Aaron Donald and plays basketball the same way as Aaron Donald plays football is an outlier.
— Brandon Rahbar (@BrandonRahbar) July 6, 2022
Kenny Lofton Jr., an undrafted player on a two-way contract with the Grizz, was in Holmgren’s face all night.
There is a lot of footage of Lofton pushing Holmgren around and really causing problems for the promising rookie.
But Brandon Rahbar put it in perspective, highlighting just how intense the competition from Lofton is:
“Kenny Lofton Jr. is the same height and weight as Zion Williamson,” Rahbar said.
He added: “Saying Chet will struggle in some matchups due to his weight is far…but a dude who weighs the same as Aaron Donald and plays basketball the same way as Aaron Donald playing football is an outlier.”
Is this sentiment going too easy on Holmgren?
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It’s true that not all opponents will be built like Lofton but some of them will be.
There will come a day when Holmgren goes face-to-face with Williamson or Joel Embiid or Nikola Jokic or many other superstars.
If Lofton is giving him such a hard time, what will those guys do to him?
The truth is that Holmgren is still very new to the league and has a lot to learn.
That doesn’t negate the greatness he has, he could still be a superstar in the making.
He’s just going to have a few guys who figure him out on the floor.
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