One of the bigger storylines surrounding the Oklahoma City Thunder’s summer league centers around Chet Holmgren’s ability to — pun intended — play more than just center.
In his three summer league games, the Thunder have experimented a bit with Holmgren in his return following missing the entire 2022-23 season due to his Lisfranc injury. Position versatility is something OKC clearly values and they’re trying to see if they can get that from Holmgren by placing him at the power forward spot.
In all three of his games, Holmgren has paired up with Jaylin Williams in the starting frontcourt, with the latter playing a healthy amount of the center minutes when both are on the court.
When asked about playing with another traditional forward/center like Williams, Holmgren lists off the benefits of playing non-five minutes, saying it allows him to play a bit more freely on the defensive side.
“It’s good because it allows my length to be found in the game in different ways,” Holmgren said about playing with Williams following their win against the Dallas Mavericks. “When he’s at the five, he’s in coverage more and I’m able to roam around the court a little more on defense. Be the low man in the help and be able to come over for blocks if somebody gets beat or just use my length in the passing lanes and as an on-ball defender as well.”
Holmgren then further talked about how it helps him when the Thunder have the ball, stating it allows him to be more of a ball-handler.
“On offense, it allows me to be in the action a little more off the dribble when he’s at the five and he comes set one for me,” Holmgren said. “It allows us to be able to have action going on both sides. When he moves the ball, I can come pick,”
This has caused some controversy among the fanbase, as it’s been argued Holmgren is a center and playing him as a power forward is a waste of his talents. While this is likely true, summer league is a friendly environment for experimenting. The results of the game don’t matter and the competition level is lower than the regular season. It only makes logical sense to experiment a bit during the two-week event.
That’s what the Thunder have done with Holmgren thus far. But just because that’s been the case in July doesn’t mean it’ll carry over to the regular season. Odds are, Holmgren will be the starting center on opening night. Meanwhile, Jaylin Williams will return to the bench because it’s hard to imagine he beats out either Jalen Williams or Lu Dort for a starting spot.
“It just opens up different things,” Holmgren said. “It’s not a completely different game, but when he’s out there, it definitely helps me as well.”
