Chet Holmgren #7 of the Oklahoma City Thunder smiles on the court during a game against the Orlando Magic during the 2022 NBA Summer League at the Thomas & Mack Center on July 11, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ethan Miller/Getty Images/AFP
Oklahoma City Thunder rookie forward Chet Holmgren will miss the 2022-23 season after sustaining a Lisfranc injury in his right foot, the team announced Thursday morning.
Holmgren, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, was injured during Saturday’s CrawsOver Pro-Am game in Seattle. He was defending LeBron James on a fast break when the injury occurred.
“Certainly, we are disappointed for Chet, especially given the excitement he had about getting on the floor with his teammates this season,” Thunder general manager Sam Presti said in a statement. “We know Chet has a long career ahead of him within our organization and the Oklahoma City community. One of the things that most impressed us during the process of selecting Chet was his determination and focus. We expect that same tenacity will carry him through this period of time as we work together and support him during his rehabilitation.”
Presti told reporters later on Thursday that the team is optimistic about Holmgren’s long-term recovery.
“He’s going to get better just by getting stronger, just by seeing things differently, just by learning the NBA,” Presti said. “All that’s going to be happening. He’s going to be able to shoot. He’s going to be able to do a lot of things with the ball.”
Saturday’s exhibition eventually had to be called in the second quarter due to unsafe court conditions. Humid conditions plus a crowd of roughly 3,000 caused condensation on the floor at Seattle Pacific University.
Presti, however, said he did not consider the condensation element to be a factor in Holmgren’s injury.
“Guys are playing all over the place all the time, everywhere,” Presti said. “If you have players that love to play, they are going to play basketball. Every time you step on a basketball court, something like this could happen. It could happen in a game. It could happen in a practice. It could happen in a scrimmage. … It’s just part of it.”
Holmgren averaged 14.0 points and 8.4 rebounds in five games for the Thunder at the Las Vegas Summer League.
In his lone season at Gonzaga, Holmgren averaged 14.1 points, 9.9 rebounds, 3.7 blocks and 1.9 assists. The Bulldogs entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 overall seed but lost in a regional semifinal to Arkansas.