The Oklahoma City Thunder announced that starting center Chet Holmgren will be sidelined from eight-to-10 weeks with a pelvic fracture he sustained in Sunday's game against the Golden State Warriors. (More Sports News)
Holmgren has been diagnosed with a right iliac wing fracture as the result of a hard fall the 2023-24 NBA Rookie of the Year runner-up took while contesting a shot during the first quarter of the Thunder's 127-116 loss to Golden State.
The 2022 No. 2 overall pick played a big role in the 8-1 start Oklahoma City took into Sunday's contest. Holmgren entered the game averaging 18.2 points, 9.2 rebounds while shooting 40 per cent from 3-point range, and his 2.6 blocks per game currently ranks third in the NBA.
Oklahoma City was already without another of its top big men for the foreseeable future, as center Isaiah Hartenstein is expected to be sidelined into December after fracturing his left hand during the pre-season.
Hartenstein signed a three-year, $87 million contract with the Thunder during the offseason, the largest deal in franchise history, after averaging 7.8 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game for the Knicks in 2023-24 and helping New York win 50 games while reaching the Eastern Conference semi-finals.
Holmgren missed the entire 2022-23 season due to a Lisfranc fracture in his foot, but came back to put together a strong debut campaign for a Thunder team that went 57-25 and earned the Western Conference's No. 1 seed in 2023-24.
The 7-footer averaged 16.5 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.3 blocks while playing in all 82 games to finish second behind San Antonio Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama in NBA Rookie of the Year voting.
