Running toward the weak side to provide help, Chet Holmgren collected his fourth block of the night by two-hand stuffing Keyonte George’s drive to the basket.
By the end of the night, the Utah Jazz grew accustomed to being on the wrong side of Holmgren’s lengthy wingspan. The highly anticipated return of the 2022 No. 2 pick highlighted the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 95-85 win in their first summer league contest.
The Thunder headed into Monday’s game with a clear talent advantage across the board. OKC’s starting lineup consisted of last year’s Rookie of the Year runner-up, the No. 2/No. 12 picks and a third-year guard.
By the end of the game, all five Thunder starters finished with a plus-minus of six-plus or better.
Meanwhile, the Jazz were without their top rookie, Taylor Hendricks, and the only notable players who suited up were Ochai Agbaji and George.
The talent gap became evident by halftime as the Thunder built a 59-43 lead thanks to a 43-point second quarter. That figure is even more impressive when you remember summer league quarters are 10 minutes.
The Jazz made it interesting in the fourth quarter with a 23-13 advantage, but the 20-point lead OKC entered the final frame with was enough of a cushion.
The Thunder enjoyed a hot night from 3; they went 13-of-31 (41.9%) beyond the perimeter arc. That effort was a much better night than Utah’s 9-of-34 (26.5%) effort from 3.
The Jazz were led by their two notable young players. Agbaji finished with 17 points on 7-of-19 shooting and nine rebounds. George had 18 points on 7-of-16 shooting. Luka Semanic also had 13 points and six rebounds.
It was an impressive team win for the Thunder, but the result of summer league games are inconsequential. The more exciting part of Monday’s fun night involved the dominating showing of OKC’s young core and being able to finally watch Holmgren play after spending the entire 2022-23 season rehabbing his Lisfranc injury.
The return of Holmgren made this summer league game that much more special. If he ends up having as great of a rookie season as most anticipate, we can look back at this otherwise forgettable night as the beginning of Holmgren’s arrival after a one-year delay.
“It was great to be back with these guys, man. I love all of them. Let’s keep working,” Holmgren said about his anticipated return.
The Thunder are hoping this game was a sign of things to come for the foreseeable future in their marriage with Holmgren following a bumpy start. Let’s look at Thunder player grades.