The Oklahoma City Thunder is the only team in the NBA with single-digit losses. They have been impressive all year, led by their MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. However, they are 41-9 and still have not played a regular-season game with all their key players at full strength. Ultimately, they got closer to finally doing that last night with Chet Holmgren returning from injury. He has not played a game since November 10th. Even though he didn’t blow up the stat sheet, his presence was felt in his return. However, there will be one person that will benefit the most from Holmgren returning: Jalen Willams.
Chet Holmgren in his first game back:
4 PTS
5 REB
1 AST
2 STL
4 BLK
22 MIN
+22 (game high) pic.twitter.com/6N5v1wRnXm— Brandon Rahbar (@BrandonRahbar) February 8, 2025
This Thunder Player Benefits Most From Chet Holmgren’s Return
Williams is averaging 21.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.8 steals, and 0.7 blocks. This has led him to earn his first-ever All-Star selection and the first time the Thunder have had two All-Stars since the 2018-19 season. However, there have been stretches where he has struggled. The 23-year-old was tasked as the second scoring option in the 39 games that Holmgren missed. Now that he has returned, Williams will be the primary beneficiary.
Williams Won’t Have Pressure To Be A Scorer
Williams’s most efficient field goal percentage was the season he played with Holmgren. This year, he has seen more defenses cater to him, as he was the only player on Oklahoma who could consistently create his shot, other than Gilgeous-Alexander. Williams sometimes struggled with shooting percentages in the 39-game stretch without Holmgren. He is down to 47.5% from the field and 34.6% from three compared to last year, where he shot 54% and 42.7%, respectively.
Alongside Holmgren, Williams won’t be under the pressure of being the second scoring option. He can play more in the flow of the offense like he did last year and be more comfortable. In addition, defenses won’t be smothering him as much since they will also have to deal with Holmgren, which will also get him more open looks.
Williams Will Be Going Back to His Natural Position
The Thunder could be playing with two bigs on the court. On Friday, Mark Daigneault decided to start Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein together to see how that would look. However, it is unclear if they will consistently start together moving forward. Even if they don’t, there will still be multiple stretches where they are playing together. This will allow Williams to play more in his natural position of small forward.
One thing that makes the former 12th overall pick a great player is his versatility. He can play spots two through five and guard multiple positions while also being able to cover most centers. In his first three seasons in the league, he spent most of his time playing shooting guard and power forward. However, that will change as he will switch more frequently to small forward. This will allow Williams to spend less time hanging down low covering post players and using a lot of energy up on defense. In addition, this will allow him to have more energy on the offensive end and be a more efficient scorer.
Holmgren and Williams Two-Man Game
Williams and Hartenstein have created a nice pick-and-roll duo in Holmgren’s absence. However, the connection he has with Holmgren is a lot better. Holmgren’s ability to be a pick-and-pop threat opens the floor up better for Williams. The defense has to respect the big man as a shooter, which creates more space in the mid-range where Williams and Gilgeous-Alexander love to operate. In addition, this will create more driving lanes for Williams, whereas with Hartenstein, it was more difficult. If the defense plays the drive, Holmgren will just beat them from the perimeter. It is essentially a ‘pick your poison’ situation with Williams and Holmgren.
The Last Word On Williams Benefiting From Holmgren’s Return
The Thunder felt Holmgren’s impact immensely in his first game back. His rim protection makes the best defense in the NBA even better. He also adds more layers to Oklahoma City’s offense and allows them to attack defenses in different ways. Regardless, Williams will benefit the most from Holmgren’s return, and his numbers should increase.
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