While helping prepare Team USA in Las Vegas for the 2023 FIBA World Cup last summer, Chet Holmgren approached Mark Few with a goal that is seldom attainable for NBA players these days — he wanted to play all 82 games his rookie season.
The former Gonzaga standout and No. 2 overall pick had missed the 2022-23 campaign with a foot injury suffered during a pro-am tournament in Seattle. Such injuries have spelled doom for 7-footers in the past. Given his rather slim appearance, some wondered how effective Holmgren would be at the next level.
Those concerns were met by one of the most historic rookie seasons in NBA history. Holmgren left an impact on both ends of the floor, as he became the first player to finish a season with at least 200 assists, 190 blocks and 129 3-pointers made.
He averaged 16.5 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.3 blocks while shooting 53.0% from the floor and 37.0% from beyond the arc. Oklahoma City (57-25) earned the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.
Holmgren didn’t take home NBA Rookie of the Year, but he still achieved his goal of playing (and starting) all 82 games.
“Playing 82 games, that’s a great goal. Especially how they wrongfully labeled him, I thought, after he had a totally fluke injury,” Few said. “To go through 82 games at that level, I think he deserves a lot more credit than he got.”
Holmgren never missed a practice let alone a game during his one year at Gonzaga, where he was a consensus All-American, the West Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year and WCC Freshman of the Year in the 2021-22 season.
He tied Brandon Clarke for the most blocked shots in a single season with 117, which is an even crazier number considering Holmgren actually missed fewer field goal attempts (110) than he did block shots.
Combine his rim protection with skillsets that resembled a guard on offense, Holmgren represented the future of the big man position in the NBA.
“His body might not look like it would be tough, but he is tough. And he never missed a practice, or a rep or anything at GU,” Few said. “He doesn’t shy away from anything.”
Few shared his thoughts on Holmgren, as well as other Zags in the NBA, and much more on a new Gonzaga Nation episode.
