Chet Holmgren He had every reason to smile after debuting in NBA Summer League Tuesday night.
2 overall pick in the 2022 draft by the Oklahoma City Thunder, Holmgren simply put up a bid in a victory over the Utah Jazz.
Producer Gonzaga led all scorers with 23 points. He drilled four of his six three-point attempts. He got seven rebounds and made four assists. He even hit a block against a 7-foot-6 Taco Fall.
Related: What Chet Holmgren brings to Thunder
When he was told he had set a summer league record by six blocks, he expressed surprise that the record was so low.
The debut of the 20-year-old rookie caused quite a stir in the NBA world, and in Wednesday’s edition of “First Things First,” Kevin Wilds explained why the performance was so impressive — even though it came in the summer league.
“There must be some pretty impressive hitch where the ‘It’s just the summer league’ argument goes away,” Wilds said. “And guess what? We crossed it last night, because he only played 23 minutes.”
Chris Broussard agreed.
“I have learned to moderate my enthusiasm and not overreact to what I see in the summer,” he said. “However, yes, it’s a big deal!…I’m a Chet Holmgren subscriber!…This boy is bad – he did it all on his first summer debut.”
But Nick Wright took a more moderate approach.
“I encourage Chet,” Wright said. “However, my fears remain. … Jazz was playing Taco Fall, eight other disbelieving men and Jared Butler. … I don’t think we could, literally, take anything from him. This was worse [Jazz] A team from the majority of the teams he’s faced in the NCAA Championships.”
Chet Holmgren makes his Summer League debut
While it’s never a good idea to overreact to Summer League performances, Kevin Wildes has nothing but good things to say about Chet Holmgren’s debut, but Nick Wright explains why he continues to be concerned about the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Here’s how the sports world reacted to Holmgren’s debut.
Holmgren throws a party for the first appearance of the Summer League
Chet Holmgren already set an NBA Summer League blockbuster record on his debut at the Oklahoma City Thunder last night. Skip Bayless reacts to Holmbren’s record-setting debut.
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