ESPN analyst says this year's Thunder are on the same level as the champions, and it has everything to do with Chet Holmgren.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, and the Oklahoma City Thunder are putting the league on notice after going 3-0 in the first week of the 2024-25 campaign. Holmgren takes personal responsibility for Thunder's elite defense, limiting opponents to 95.3 points per game throughout the first three games, per TeamRankings.com. It's the kind of production that caught ESPN's Tim Legler's eye, as he's already projecting the Thunder, alongside the champion Boston Celtics, as the NBA's only two elite teams in the early go.
Legler discussed the second-year big and the Thunder's dominant start alongside Adam Mares on the ALL NBA Podcast. After Holmgren made Thunder franchise history in their season opener, he averaged 23.7 points, 13.0 rebounds, 4.0 blocks, and 1.3 steals per game in his first three games as the anchor to Oklahoma City's elite defense. For Legler, Chet's elite production this season will lift OKC to the same plateau as the 2024 champion Celtics.
“They already had a great team a year ago. Chet Holmgren takes this much of a leap in year 2. Right now, there are two teams on a different level than the rest of the league — Boston and Oklahoma City are on a different level,” Legler said. “And it's early to be saying something like that, but it's obvious. And a lot of it has to do with the growth and emergence, and aggressiveness, of Chet Holmgren.”
ESPN's Tim Legler says Chet Holmgren is a ‘monster'
Oklahoma City Thunder big man Chet Holmgren increased his strength ahead of 2024-25. Legler joined Adam Mares, who says the Thunder are the deepest defense in the league, on the ALL NBA Podcast. Legler explains how it plays a significant role in Holmgren's emergence this season. His personal growth is synonymous with Oklahoma City's ascension to becoming one of the two scariest teams in the NBA today.
“He is definitely stronger in his ability to play through contact off the dribble. You saw it again last night. You're talking on the defensive end of the floor. You're 100 percent right. I saw it first on the offensive end, coming out of the gate,” Legler said. “How aggressive he has been in all three of their games. And, defensively, that's what opened my eyes when he was coming out for the draft.
“I couldn't believe the ground this guy covered defensively. The number of shots he was willing to challenge at the rim, as a guy that's built that way, and now you're seeing it start to translate at the NBA level as well. You got an absolute monster on your hands,” Legler concluded.
Holmgren and the Thunder are hosting the Spurs on Wednesday.
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