The Thunder rebounded strongly from losing to the Denver Nuggets by beating the Houston Rockets 126-107. This was largely due to big games from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren, who dropped 29 points each. In addition, they got back to their defensive intensity, forcing 17 turnovers and not allowing a single Rockets player to score over 20 points. All year, the Thunder have been the best defensive team, and it showed up again against the Rockets. Furthermore, a big reason why they have the top-ranked defense is because of Holmgren, who, so far, is making a strong case for the Defensive Player of the Year award.
Coming into the year, the Thunder had multiple players that were in play for that award. Whether you are talking about their elite perimeter defenders in Lu Dort, Alex Caruso, and Cason Wallace or the shot-blocking big in Holmgren. However, it was a long shot for any of those players to claim the award, with so many other talented defenders in the league. Regardless, in this first part of the season, Holmgren has made a strong case for the award. Even with all of the other great defensive talent the Thunder have, Holmgren has been the driving force of the number-one-ranked defense in the NBA. Today, we will analyze why Chet Holmgren is making a case for the DPOY Award.
Chet Holmgren is Making a Strong Early Case for This Award
The Number of Blocks and Steals He Gets
A lot of the time, when someone wants to earn the Defensive Player of the Year award, the biggest things they look at are blocks and steals. Last season, when Rudy Gobert won the award, he averaged 2.1 blocks per game and 0.7 steals per game. This season, Holmgren is on a pace to surpass Gobert’s numbers. Holmgren is averaging 2.9 blocks per game and 0.9 steals per game. He ranks third in blocks in the entire NBA and only behind Walker Kessler and Victor Wembanyama. These are great numbers for a big, especially averaging nearly a steal a game, which is rare for a big to do.
In addition to those blocks and steal numbers, he has shut down some of the best offensive talent in the NBA. In the first game of the year, he held Nikola Jokic to only 16 points and had a couple of blocks against him. The 16 points that Jokic scored is his lowest this year. In the next game they met up, Holmgren held Jokic to 23 points, which was the second-lowest-scoring game he had. If that wasn’t enough to sell you, he also held Wembanyama to only six points and Alperen Sengun to 11 points. Furthermore, the only player this year to score 20 points against Chet has been Jokic.
Holmgren’s Rim Protecting Skills
For a player to win the DPOY award, you need more than just blocks and steals. A lot of players will be getting blocks and steals throughout the NBA season, but you need other skills that separate you from the players you are trying to beat out for the award. One of those other skills is Holmgren’s rim-protecting skills. Rim-protecting is more than just getting blocks by the rim. It is also about what kind of shooting percentage you allow at the rim.
Holmgren is holding players to shoot 42.4% within six feet at the rim, which is the fourth-best in the NBA. However, even though he is not number one, he also has more attempts at the rim, with 11.0 per game, which is tied for first in the NBA. The player in first, Wemby, is only getting 8.7 attempts per game and holding opponents to shoot 41.0%. It is pretty impressive that with more attempts per game, Chet is right up there in the top four in shooting percentage allowed.
His Defensive Rating and Defensive Win Shares
Finally, Holmgren’s best case for the DPOY award is his win shares and defensive rating. He is second in defensive win shares with 0.228, only behind teammate Shai, this makes him number one for centers. In addition, he has a 96.7 defensive rating, which is the first among centers who play at least 15 minutes per game centers who start. These two categories separate him the most from the other contenders for the award. If you look at every defensive category, there is, whether that is blocks, steals for a center, rim protection, defensive rating, or defensive win shares. Chet Holmgren is in the top five for every category and number one in some.
In addition, his defensive impact not only on the court but at the rim as well allows other players to be more aggressive. Players like Dort, Caruso, and Wallace, who are already elite defenders, can be extra aggressive, knowing they have Holmgren back there to help them. Having that ability only makes players around you better, and players playing with that extra aggression on defense can be the deciding factor in a close game.
The Last Word on Chet Holmgren’s Case for the DPOY Award
Coming into this season, Holmgren would have been a long shot to get the DPOY award. However, with how well he has played so far this season on that side, he is making a very strong case for it. If the Thunder can finish the year with the best defense in the NBA, and Holmgren can play at this level for the whole season. Holmgren should very well be in the discussion for the DPOY award, if not the front-runner it will be hard not to give the award to someone who anchors the best defense in the NBA.
