While appearing on JJ Redick’s podcast, Miami Heat guard Victor Oladipo sang high praise for Oklahoma City Thunder rookie Chet Holmgren during his open runs from the offseason.
Oladipo was part of the open runs Holmgren participated in before he suffered a season-ending Lisfranc injury. Oladipo said he was impressed with Holmgren’s ability to stay on players such as Kevin Durant and Joel Embiid.
“Someone who has surprised me is Chet. Just honestly seeing how really lengthy he is in person and obviously he can score the ball but I think what’s gonna make him really crazy is his ability to affect the game other than doing that. You can pretty much go one through four if he uses his length right. The ability to protect the rim and then obviously how versatile he is. He can pass and dribble at that size is pretty impressive. Though he’s young, he’s light right now. So we’ll see how it works out for him, but he was really impressive to me. I remember one game he had to guard Joel (Embiid) and then the next game he had to guard (Kevin Durant) and he guarded them every possession. They had no problem. You know, Kevin made some shots, of course, Joel, too. But he did his thing and I think – us as players — we can respect that, especially from I’m a guy who hasn’t even played an NBA game yet. You know, not afraid to just, I’m going to guard two of the best players in the world, every possession now.”
Hearing this is bittersweet for the Thunder. It excites the fans on Holmgren’s long-term potential but also is a somber reminder they will not be able to see it for a year as he recovers from his foot injury.
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