Chet Holmgren talks about how every team guards him differently

Before facing the Portland Blazers on New Year’s Eve, Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren he said opposing teams defend him unlike any other teammate. Holmgren bounced back from the Spurs loss with a career-high 29 points, nine rebounds and four blocks in a 129-104 win over the Philadelphia 76ers. Then the Thunder won back-to-back games, following Monday’s 140-129 win against the Atlanta Hawks.

Holmgren revealed how teams take care of him differs from how the rest of the Groms are stored.

“Every single game is different, it really is. I feel like I’m guarded (differently) more than anybody else on the team, just depending on the other team’s personnel, how they want to plan things,” Holmgren said. “But I think it’s beautiful. Take what the defense gives me, be aggressive and just try to get my stuff in the game — some nights it’s going to be over my right shoulder, some nights it’s going to be over my left shoulder. I just have to be efficient and quick to get my stuff.”

For many opposing teams, including the San Antonio Spurs, who have beaten the defending champions three times in two weeks, limiting Holmgren’s offensive production is key to beating the Thunder. As All-Star Jalen Williams continues to adjust to his surgically repaired right ankle, Holmgren is often Oklahoma City’s second option to Shai Gilgea-Alexander.

Kendrick Perkins calls out Chet Holmgren in the Spurs game

ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins called out Chet Holmgren’s performance in a pair of Thunder losses against the Spurs. Perkins went so far as to say the Spurs punked Holmgren, he said, on ESPN’s Get Up.

“I’ve got to catch my boy Chet Holmgren for a minute. He’s playing soft in this match. Victor Wembanyama wants a smoke,” Perkins said. “He’s losing that smoke now — that foul foul he had, and he’s yelling and clapping at the free throw line. Chet has to go with it the next time they play the Spurs. It might be in the postseason, but he’s got to go out with it because right now the Spurs are hitting the Thunder, and they’re making them soft.”

After scoring seven and 10 points in the two losses to the Spurs on a combined 8-for-19 shooting, Holmgren followed that up with 29 and 24 against the 76ers and Hawks on a combined 21-for-31, including 4-for-8 in back-to-back games at the Pike Center.