Chet Holmgren enjoyed an excellent rookie campaign, starting all 92 games for the Oklahoma City Thunder over the regular season and playoffs. But he recognises that he cannot guard one Philadelphia 76ers superstar.
Holmgren was selected 2nd overall in the 2022 NBA Draft but ended up missing the entire 22-23 season.
He more than made up for it the following season, establishing himself as a key part of the Thunder's roster and making it to the NBA All-Rookie First Team. Along the way, Holmgren broke and created quite a few records.
Holmgren recently appeared on Paul George's podcast and shared a fascinating story about Joel Embiid. According to Anthony Pasciolla on The Sporting News, the Thunder star said: "Before I got hurt, I was playing pick-up. I was playing against [Joel Embiid], your new teammate.
"He wasn't disrespecting me, but he was bull [expletive]. And like you know, I was making shots and made a game-winner. Then, Drew was talking [expletive] to him [Embiid], "You let a rookie...' and then he came out and just nine straight buckets, we played one-on-one in the middle of a pickup game."
Holmgren openly said that "nobody can guard him one-on-one" when talking about Embiid further, to which George agreed.
Embiid has averaged more than 30 points per game in the past three seasons. So, we are not breaking new ground here.
On top of that, it is going to get a lot tougher for opposition teams to guard Embiid next season. That is because the former MVP will have both Tyrese Maxey and George as his teammates.
Of course, teams can try to double-team Embiid but that would allow more opportunities for Maxey and George to find the bucket.
It is not hard to understand why the 76ers are being considered title contenders ahead of the 2024-25 season. The combination of Embiid, Maxey and George fits perfectly, at least on paper. Now, it is up to them, their teammates and the coaching staff to make things work on the court.
