Chet Holmgren has been on a promising stretch in his games. But is he really the perfect fit to man OKC’s center spot moving forward? We have seen how the Thunder’s big man has been emerging as a favorite to win the Defensive Player of the Year this season. Without a doubt, he’s a reason why Oklahoma City is leading the league right now.
Still, we all know how this discussion usually goes. Holmgren is not bulky enough to go up against all the bigs in the league. Even Victor Wembanyama — often serving as a benchmark for Chet’s performances — has bulked up in that regard. The question has been a persistent query for many critics and even Thunder fans since Holmgren entered the league, which is quite a question about his value in that position.
Is Chet Holmgren Good Enough to Hold OKC’s Center Spot?
It’s a valid question considering that the Thunder are playing him at the five spot so far. With Isaiah Hartenstein missing some time due to a calf injury, Holmgren is holding down the fort as the main center. Sure, Branden Carlson is also getting some valuable minutes, but that hasn’t seen much bigger effect so far.
Chet Holmgren is Playing as a Stretch Big
For most of the 2024-25 season, it was Hartenstein manning the middle as the starting center for the Thunder. Holmgren missed out on a huge chunk of games due to a major pelvic injury back then. Even in the NBA playoffs, Hartenstein was always starting at the five, while Holmgren took the power forward spot.
Even before making it to the NBA, Chet Holmgren is already seen as a far cry from the traditional centers in the league. The Thunder center shares the spot with Hartenstein, allowing him to roam on the defense or hunt for lobs on the offense. This lets OKC have twin towers on the court without sacrificing both shooting and paint presence.
Both Holmgren and Hartenstein are yet to play a full season together while being healthy. In the past few games, we’ve seen how OKC has struggled to get boards without IHart. To give him his flowers, however, Chet has done a great job of manning the middle.
Chet is a Strong Center for OKC
The 2023-24 playoff run for the Thunder concluded that Holmgren wasn’t enough alone at the center spot. Still, we’ve seen how he has improved this season. In 14 games played without IHart, Chet is averaging 19.4 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks. In that span, he’s scoring 20+ points in seven of those games.
The rebounding number has also been quite impressive. He’s got five games where he grabbed at least 10 rebounds. That’s pretty good for a center who’s said to be “too skinny” or “too lanky” to go up alongside some of the bigs in the NBA. If you’re still being skeptical, Chet Holmgren has also come up with at least a block in 11 of those 14 games.
Chet’s joined the “Shai consistency” where I just expect him to be impactful every game recently
— Gur Singh (@HoopFocusX) January 12, 2026
It’s safe to say that he’s definitely getting better as a center for the Thunder. In fact, Chet is flexing a 12-2 record without IHart. He’s playing well against teams with notable centers to add to that fact. That says a lot about how Holmgren is expecting to be a strong permanent center option in the long run.
Chet vs Other Centers
To be fair, Holmgren doesn’t struggle a lot against centers in the league than most people expect. In fact, he’s capable of going head-to-head against most bigs. This allows OKC to be confident in putting more minutes for Holmgren, all while getting the rim protection and length they need from him. Sure, Chet does tend to struggle to make plays sometimes, but that’s a Thunder thing to fix.
The only thing holding him back from his full potential is the lack of plays set for him. There are some pick-and-roll plays available for him, but Oklahoma City lets Chet play iso most of the time. This is seeing some ups and downs, as he usually passes out of a shot rather than take it to the rim. Decision-making has improved by a mile for him so far, which is a great note if he’s starting as center for the games to come.
There’s little update on Isaiah Hartenstein’s timetable, and this means Chet is staying as the man in the middle for OKC at this point. We’ve seen the Thunder struggling to come up with expected wins against some teams, and there’s got to be a change in the rotation before January ends.
Is Chet an Ideal Starting Center?
Summing it up, Chet does seem like a good center for OKC to keep at this point. However, they will need to make some adjustments to better accommodate him in that spot. After all, centers need the help of their respective guards to be effective in the long run. With Holmgren playing alongside the reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and All-Star Jalen Williams, the expectations are indeed high.
For what it’s worth, Holmgren is starting to look like the permanent center for OKC. Given how the roster crunch will be giving them problems soon, Holmgren acclimating to the five spot is certainly a win. After all, the Thunder do have Thomas Sorber coming in soon. Then there’s Carlson, who’s looking like a good signing option as well.
For now, fans are looking forward to seeing more improvement from Chet Holmgren. He’s still a young center, after all. He’s even gunning for an All-Star spot this season. Given the way he’s playing right now, one can say that he is deserving of getting to that point in his career.
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