Why the 2025-26 season is a promising regular season Chet Holmgren, the Thunder have been waiting for

Head coach Mark Daigneault knew it, ten days after he and Oklahoma City Thunder won the NBA Finals, starting up front Chet Holmgren went back to the gym, worked on his game. The 23-year-old striker did not take any chances. Holmgren will never forget the darkest days of his career amid a 50-game absence last season. Another frustrating setback for the second overall pick in the 2022 draft, who lost his rookie year to an injury to Lisfranc.

With the fear of another significant setback, Holmgren he didn’t waste much time is celebrating after a Game 7 win against the Indiana Pacers, headed straight into his offseason workouts in less than two weeks, according to ESPN’s Anthony Slater.

“Nothing is worse for your body than not training,” Holmgren said. “I learned that I was on bed rest for six weeks watching my muscles just fucking wash away.”

With just 132 regular season games into his fourth season with the Thunder, Holmgren is still developing, and it shows. This season, he is averaging career highs in points (18.4), field goal percentage (56.1%) and rebounds (8.0). The 2025-26 campaign is by far his best chance to earn his first All-Star nod, and more to come.

Chet Holmgren out of Thunder’s 2024-25 season with hip injury.

Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein has never seen anyone in as much pain on the basketball court as Chet Holmgren broke his pelvis in Game 10 of the regular season. Hartenstein worked with Holmgren during the summer and thought about the trajectory he had seen his teammate on before another significant setback brought Chet back to reality.

“He would be in contention for defensive player of the year,” Hartenstein said. “He had a chance to make the All-Star team. So I think that’s probably another mental factor. You have to go through the what ifs.”

In the midst of an 8-1 start last season for coach Marc Daigneault and the Thunder, Holmgren scored 29 points in 29 minutes before it all came to a screeching halt.

“Then boom,” Holmgren said. “Back. It’s so disheartening.”

After spending a week in the hospital, Holmgren was bedridden for three weeks as the Thunder continued their regular season without him.

“You don’t want people around you because you’re miserable,” Holmgren said. “You can’t do anything. You’re not even living, you’re just surviving.”

“That’s something I don’t think the fans realize about some of these real freaking injuries.”

It was a frustrating three-month recovery process before Holmgren returned to the floor in February. Maybe that’s why he didn’t waste much time celebrating his first championship. While winning an NBA title is the goal at the top of most players’ lists, Chet is in a position to qualify for the personal accolades he has yet to earn during his injury-riddled career.

But this year is different. While the Thunder were without Jaylen Williams for the first 19 games as the defending champions, Holmgren reprized his role as the team’s defensive anchor and took it to new heights. 22 games into the regular season, he is the favorite to win Defensive Player of the Year. Oklahoma City (103.8) has the best defensive rating and the best record — 21-1 — in the NBA.

Will 2025-26 be Chet Holmgren’s breakout season for the Thunder?

Chet Holmgren and the Thunder agreed to a five-year, $240.7 million contract extension — an investment in one-third of coach Mark Dano’s core, led by reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander along with All-Star Jaylen Williams. Fresh off a title shot, the Thunder’s core is in their early to mid-twenties and has the best chance to become a new NBA dynasty.

This season, according to GeniusIK, Holmgren has held opponents to 39.9% shooting as a competitive defender, best among 42 players who have taken at least 250 shots, as noted by ESPN’s Anthony Slater.

“He always has it all,” Daigneault said. “But there’s still a ceiling for him because he’s such a young player. He’s only played (131) games in his career. So we look at him as a guy who’s still developing. And it sounds weird to say that because that’s usually associated with guys who haven’t accomplished what he had.”

However, Holmgren’s best results are yet to come for the defending champion Thunder, seeing back-to-back titles amid a near-perfect start to the 22-game regular season.