‘It’s like the injury never happened’: Chet Holmgren returns after 11-month lay-off and shakes off rust as Oklahoma City Thunder beat Utah Jazz in Summer League opener
- Center-forward Chet Holmgren was the second overall pick in the 2022 draftÂ
- Holmgren missed the entire season due to a foot injury that required surgery
- DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news
Chet Holmgren made his long-awaited return to the court after 11 months out and showed flashes of the talent that made him such an exciting prospect.
Holmgren was the No 2 overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft but missed his entire rookie season for the Oklahoma City Thunder after a foot injury that required surgery.
The 7ft center-forward was back on Monday, amassing 15 points, nine rebounds and four blocks during the Thunder’s 95-85 victory over the Utah Jazz in the Summer League opener.
His return began with a few blunders and a scoreless first quarter but afterwards Holmgren said: ‘The last thing I wanted to do was come out here and be timid, so I wanted to come out of the gates and be aggressive and look to impact the game.’Â
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The 21-year-old added: ‘Obviously with that, you can make mistakes or miss shots, and that’s part of the game.Â
Chet Holmgren made his long-awaited return to the court after 11 months out on Monday
Holmgren missed his entire rookie season for the Oklahoma City Thunder after a foot injury
‘Whether you’ve just played a hundred straight games without missing one or missed the whole season, mistakes come with the game, and I just got to learn from them.’
Holmgren suffered the foot injury during a pro-am in his previous appearance last August.Â
On Monday in Salt Lake City, his game began to click from the second quarter and one highlight of his performance was a 40-foot touch pass to Jaylin Williams for a layup.
‘That’s just new-school basketball,’ Holmgren said. ‘I look forward to making it happen more.’
Holmgren has played in pickup and small-sided games since regaining his fitness.Â
‘The foot feels great,’ he added. ‘It’s like the injury never happened, other than everything I had to go through obviously.Â
‘But at this point, if you erased my memory, I wouldn’t know that anything had happened to my foot other than the scars from surgery… not being able to play a game for a year, it’s really, really hard to test and see where you are.’
‘The foot feels great… it’s like the injury never happened,’Â Holmgren said following his return
The 7ft center-forward has played in pickup and small-sided games since regaining his fitness
