Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren was helped to the locker room after a hard fall in the first quarter of Sunday's matchup with the Golden State Warriors. It was unclear what Holmgren's specific injury was, but he put no weight on his right side as he made his way to the tunnel.
Just over halfway through the first quarter, Holmgren jumped to contest a layup attempt by Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins. As Wiggins made contact with Holmgren's upper half, his lower half tilted parallel to the floor as he suffered a scary fall. The brunt of the impact appeared to land on Holmgren's right hip and side.
Chet Holmgren was injured and had to be helped off the court after contesting an Andrew Wiggins layup pic.twitter.com/uC8qms9MQI
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) November 11, 2024
The 7-foot-1 big man gave the thumbs up as he made his way to the locker room at Paycom Center.
Concern here in OKc: Chet Holmgren took a shot to the side while defending an Andrew Wiggins first quarter layup. Just needed help getting to the locker room. Wasn’t putting weight on right leg. Appeared to be grabbing hip/oblique area when he was on the ground. pic.twitter.com/ZGF3mCwqmG
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) November 11, 2024
Holmgren, who was scoreless with four rebounds at the time of the injury, is off to a fantastic start to his sophomore season. He's increased his numbers across the board, entering Sunday's game with averages of 18 points and nine rebounds. His 2.9 blocks per game were good for second in the NBA.
It remains to be seen whether Holmgren, who missed his entire first NBA season due to foot surgery, will require a stint on the inactive list, but the Thunder will have to scramble at center if that's the case. Prized offseason acquisition Isaiah Hartenstein, who would be the next in line in the middle, is still out after breaking his left hand during training camp, while backup center Jaylin Williams is out at least a couple more weeks with a hamstring injury. Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault will likely rely on small-ball lineups if Holmgren is sidelined.
