Over the last few summers, clips of Chet Holmgren working out with NBA legends have surfaced online. The most notable example is Kevin Durant, with whom he’s formed a tight bond over the years.
The two ball-handling, outside-shooting seven-footers have similar career arcs — both were drafted with the No. 2 pick by the same organization and have been touted as generational prospects.
It’s a decision that a lot of other players go against. There are several examples of players who refuse to work out in the offseason with other players around the league.
But according to Holmgren in his exit interview, he’s always open to working out with established players in the league as a way to absorb information like a sponge.
“I would say I don’t have the arrogance yet to be like, ‘I don’t need to,'” Holmgren said. “I’m in the summer working out against somebody who has 15-plus All-Star appearances, I think I’m taking from them more than they’re taking from me.”
Holmgren joked he doesn’t have to worry about a veteran player stealing any of his moves — if anything, it could be the other way around.
“So I don’t have the arrogance to be like, ‘I don’t want them to be stealing my moves,'” Holmgren said. “Come on now. I’m just looking for the best competition to go and play against.”
KD, Trae, Chet, and many more in the same run is electric 🤩 (via @ThroughTheLens) pic.twitter.com/0AIhkRBmv9
— Overtime (@overtime) August 11, 2023
This will be Holmgren’s first offseason with NBA experience under his belt. After playing every game this year, he’ll likely enjoy a little bit of a break.
After that though, expect viral clips of him working out with other players to pop up on social media in the dog days of August.
