Chet Holmgren. The name itself just sounds like a basketball cheat code, right? A 7-foot-1 unicorn who can shoot threes, swat shots into the cheap seats, and handle the rock like a point guard. When the Oklahoma City Thunder snagged him with the second overall pick back in 2022, the hype was absolutely insane. He was supposed to be the guy, the final piece of the puzzle to turn their rebuild into a full-blown thunderstorm.

But before he could even play a single minute of a real NBA game, disaster struck in the most unexpected way, leading to a “lost” rookie season that was filled with frustration, doubt, and a whole lot of hard work behind the scenes. This is the story of Chet’s incredible misfortune and his even more incredible comeback.

What happened to Chet Holmgren during his rookie NBA season?

So, picture this: it’s August 20, 2022, just two months after the NBA Draft. The offseason is supposed to be about getting ready, right? Chet decides to play in the CrawsOver Pro-Am game in Seattle, a star-studded summer league game where NBA guys get some run. It’s a chance to show out, to compete against the best. The gym is packed, the energy is electric, and Chet finds himself on a fast break, the last line of defense against none other than LeBron James.

You know what happens next if you’re a competitor like Chet: you challenge the King. LeBron drives to the hoop for a layup, and Chet, all 7-foot-1 of him, rises to contest the shot. It was a play we’ve seen a million times in the NBA. But when Chet landed, something was wrong. Immediately, he started hobbling, clearly hurt. It was one of those moments that just makes your stomach drop.

The very next day, he flew to Oklahoma City to be checked out by the Thunder’s medical staff, and the diagnosis was just brutal: a Lisfranc injury. That’s a really nasty bit of damage to the ligaments and bones in the middle of your foot. And in Chet’s case, it was severe. He needed surgery to repair a torn ligament, and just like that, his rookie season was over before it even began. He didn’t play a single game in the 2022-23 season.

For a kid who’d heard his whole life that he was “too skinny” to hold up in the NBA, this felt like a nightmare scenario. As he later told GQ, after the injury, “it’s like, ‘Ah, f— I gotta hear it 10 times as much for this whole year.’” It was a long, tough road back, filled with rehab, doubt, and a whole lot of chatter from the critics.

When did Chet Holmgren play his first NBA game?

After that entire “lost” season, Chet Holmgren finally made his official NBA debut in the 2023-24 season. And he came back with a point to prove. He didn’t just play; he was an absolute ironman, basically giving a smug smirk to all the doubters and their durability concerns. He started all 82 regular-season games for the Thunder, averaging nearly 30 minutes a night.

His mindset was just different. He told GQ about a time mid-season when the schedule was absolutely brutal and his coach, Mark Daigneault, asked him if he wanted a night off to rest. Chet’s response? A hard “No.” As he put it so perfectly, “If there’s a game where health-wise it’s not smart to play, yes, I’ll put my health in front of my ego. But if I can go out there and play, I’m gonna go out there and play. If you give me the option to play, I’m gonna play.”

Unfortunately, his second active season (2024-25) brought another scary injury. He suffered a right iliac wing fracture, a fracture in his upper pelvis, after a hard fall in a November game against the Warriors, which caused him to miss another 39 games.

What were Chet Holmgren’s achievements in his rookie season?

That official rookie season back in 2023-24? It was nothing short of spectacular, even if he didn’t end up taking home the Rookie of the Year trophy. He put up some seriously impressive numbers, averaging about 16.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, and a monster 2.5 blocks per game. But it was his insane, one-of-a-kind skillset that really had people’s jaws on the floor. He became the first rookie in NBA history to rack up both 100 three-pointers and 150 blocks in a single season. That’s a true “unicorn” for you!

His incredible performance earned him a unanimous selection to the NBA All-Rookie First Team. It was an absolute no-brainer. He also finished as the runner-up for the NBA Rookie of the Year award, coming in second to that other worldly phenom, Victor Wembanyama.

While Wemby’s individual stats were off the charts, a lot of people argued Chet deserved more love because of his massive impact on a winning team. As his teammate Jalen Williams said, “What’s his case for Rookie of the Year? Well, I think his numbers speak for themselves… We were basically .500 last year without him, and now we already have 50 wins. To me, that’s a pretty good case.”

And now, in these 2025 playoffs, even after that hip fracture earlier this season, he’s been putting up fantastic numbers again, averaging around 15 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 assists per game on this run to the Finals. He’s a guy who truly appreciates the moment. Fans even went crazy for his pre-Game 1 Finals fit. A simple black hoodie and casual white pants.

Some joked he was taking style tips from SGA (“sha giving him drip i see”), while others quipped, “Can’t get pants that fit when you are 7’?” But one fan summed up the vibe perfectly: “Chet pulled up like Slenderman with a jumper and playoff receipts. First Finals? Bro looks like he’s been preparing for this since middle school PE class domination. Let the chaos begin.”

From a devastating injury to a bona fide star on the NBA’s biggest stage, Chet Holmgren’s journey has been anything but boring.