Chet Holmgren Hyped by Thunder HC After Mavs Loss: ‘He Sleeps in His Sneakers’

Julia StumbaughMay 19, 2024

Cooper Neill/NBAE via Getty Images

Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said Rookie of the Year runner-up Chet Holmgren is going to be an even more dominant player during his second NBA season.

“Right now, this is, in my opinion, the lowest level of Chet Holmgren we’re going to see, which is pretty exciting,” Daigneault told reporters (h/t Thunder reporter Rylan Stiles.) “And the reason I’m so confident in saying that is because of his appetite for improvement.

“He’s a guy that is incredibly focused. Basketball is his number one priority. He sleeps in his sneakers.”

Rylan Stiles @Rylan_StilesMark Daigneault on Chet Holmgren “This is the lowest level of Chet Holmgren,” mentioned it’s easy to project progress/development for Chet “he sleeps in his sneakers” pic.twitter.com/Qz7RfItwf6

Holmgren led the Thunder with 2.5 blocks per playoff game, while averaging 15.6 points through 10 postseason contests, before the Thunder were eliminated Saturday with a Game 6 conference semifinals loss to the Dallas Mavericks.

Daigneault said he expects Holmgren to build on those skills this offseason.

“He will have a great summer, physically and skill-wise,” Daigneault said. “He has done a great job on working with us as an organization on a plan and sticking to that plan. He did that last summer, through season, he’ll do that again this summer.

“When you’ve got a guy with that kind of drive, the plan is that focused, and he’s wanting to execute it the way that he is, improvement is very predictable. I would say that for him, and I would also extend that to all of our players.”

Daigneault added that the Thunder have “runway” as contenders due to the average age of the roster, which made Oklahoma City the youngest team in NBA history to win a playoff series with its first-round sweep of the New Orleans Pelicans.

Holmgren, the No. 2 pick of the 2022 draft, missed his projected first NBA campaign with a foot injury and is eligible for an extension next summer. He will play on a $10.9 million club option for the Thunder as the team looks to return to the playoffs as a title contender in 2025.