It sounds like a fever dream if you’re an OKC Thunder fan, or well, maybe a redemption arc straight out of a Netflix series. Chet Holmgren, the long-limbed unicorn of the Thunder’s present, sharing summer gym time with Kevin Durant, the enigmatic superstar of their past. One is still carving out his legacy; the other left his fingerprints all over OKC’s basketball history before taking a controversial exit stage left. And now? They’re sweating it out on the same hardwood in the middle of July.

Picture this: a dusty gym, echoing with sneakers squeaking, the thud of a Spalding against hardwood, and two seven-footers who move like guards going at it in pickup. Add Bol Bol to the mix for a dash of surrealism, and you’ve got an offseason workout that feels more like an NBA multiverse glitch than reality. But make no mistake—this wasn’t just for the cameras. For Holmgren, it was about absorbing greatness. For Durant, it was… well, who knows with KD?

Did Kevin Durant and Chet Holmgren train together after the 2024 NBA season?

Yep. They absolutely did. In fact, it was the second straight offseason that Chet Holmgren shared the floor with Kevin Durant during summer workouts. And it wasn’t just a cameo appearance for the highlight reels—it was a sustained run of training that emphasized both post work and perimeter shot creation, two staples in Durant’s elite game and areas Holmgren has looked to refine. In his 2024 exit interview, Holmgren didn’t drop names outright but made it clear that he was hunting for elite competition. “Whoever’s willing to get in the gym and hoop, I’m going to be there,” he said. That gym, it turns out, included KD—15+ All-Star appearances, multiple scoring titles, and a Finals MVP resume to match.

He added, “I would say I don’t have the arrogance yet to be like I don’t need to — like if I’m playing if I’m in the summer working out against somebody who has 15-plus All-Star appearances, et cetera, et cetera, I think I’m taking from them more than they’re taking from me. So I don’t have the arrogance to be like I don’t want them to be stealing my moves. Come on now. I’m just looking for the best competition to go and play against.” 

Add Bol Bol into that equation, another lanky, unconventional big, and what you get is a sort of tall-ball laboratory, where Holmgren is refining his already freakish skill set against two of the most unique seven-footers the league has seen. This kind of collaboration has a symbolic flair to it too. For a franchise still haunted by Durant’s departure back in 2016, the sight of their new hope absorbing knowledge from their former kingpin almost feels like a basketball olive branch.

Chet Holmgren vs Kevin Durant stats comparison

It’s not every day you get to stack up a rising star with a first-ballot Hall of Famer and still find it to be a fair fight, but Chet Holmgren’s second NBA season is making that comparison feel less like a reach and more like a reality check. Now that he’s sharing off-season workouts with Kevin Durant himself, the parallels between OKC’s past and present cornerstones are no longer just poetic, but statistical.

Back in 2008–09, Durant’s sophomore season was his official “I’ve arrived” statement. He put up a smooth 25.3 points per game on 47.6% shooting, drilling 42.2% from beyond the arc and playing nearly 39 minutes per night. He added 6.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.3 steals, already looking like a perennial All-Star in the making. KD’s scoring toolkit was elite from the jump, and his second year turned him from a hyped prospect into the league’s next unstoppable bucket.

Chet Holmgren’s Year 2 has a different kind of sauce. While his scoring isn’t as volcanic—averaging 16.5 points per game—he’s doing it on hyper-efficient splits: 53.6% from the field and 38.9% from deep, all in just under 31 minutes per game. His stat line also includes 7.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 2.5 blocks, with an impact that stretches far beyond the box score. Unlike Durant, who was the offensive centerpiece from the get-go, Holmgren is the ultimate modern glue guy—a stretch-five who protects the rim like a porcupine guards its territory.

What makes this comparison so fascinating is how differently they shaped OKC. KD brought scoring gravity—he was the guy defenses schemed for. Chet brings versatility. He’s the defensive anchor, a floor spacer, and the guy who lets OKC play five-out without sacrificing rim protection. One bent defense by putting the ball in the bucket. The other bends them by erasing buckets altogether.

So while Durant’s sophomore season screamed “scoring king in waiting,” Holmgren’s whispers something more balanced—“the complete package, just built differently.” And now? They’re in the gym together. Past and present, working out side by side, passing the torch one rep at a time.

Their careers might look nothing alike on paper—Durant, the pure scorer with a Hall of Fame path paved in midrange jumpers, and Holmgren, the unicorn big redefining how a center can move, pass, and defend, but the connection between them feels deeper than stats. It’s about legacy. Chet isn’t trying to be the next KD—he’s trying to be the first Chet. But training with the legend who once put OKC on the map? That’s not just poetic… it’s purposeful. And for Thunder fans, it’s a full-circle moment worth buying into.