Chet Holmgren has sat out the entirety of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 2022-23 NBA season due to a Lisfranc injury in his foot.
Holmgren got hurt during a Pro-am game during the offseason and was forced to miss his rookie year as a result.
That said, the former Gonzaga standout hasn’t just been sitting around. He knows the Thunder spent a No. 2 overall pick on him, and he has been working hard to justify the organization’s faith in him.
Recently, Holmgren posted some photos online showing that he added some very noticeable amounts of muscle to his other-wise skinny frame.
The picture on the left is Chet Holmgren during summer league and the right pic is from yesterday.
Looks like he has added some muscle mass to his frame 👀🔥 pic.twitter.com/M6OkyABLEW
— NBA Memes (@NBAMemes) April 5, 2023
It definitely seems like there are some cuts in his upper arms that didn’t exist prior.
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Seeing Holmgren put in this sort of work will be a welcome sight for Thunder fans.
Him being as slender as he is was a huge concern coming out of college. The fact that he immediately got hurt playing defense during an otherwise routine drive into the lane only reinforced the belief that he was way too skinny.
Oklahoma City put together a very impressive 2022-23 campaign without Holmgren. The team is currently fighting for a position in the Western Conference playoffs, and given that nobody expected much from them this season, they’re really playing with house money at this juncture.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a legit star (as is his girlfriend).
With Holmgren back in the fold in 2023-24, the Thunder could be legitimately formidable in the West.
No wonder the Nets looked so distracted last night. https://t.co/PCULQuTdG2
— Game 7 (@game7__) April 5, 2023
They just need their young star to stay healthy.
Him putting on fresh muscle was a key first step in making that goal a reality.
Will Holmgren be able to come back strong in Year 2 and show everyone why the Thunder believed in him enough to draft him as high as they did last season? Time will tell.
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