In sports – and in life in general – we throw around words as if they don’t carry a lot of meaning. Recently, Shaq pushed back against some of the big-time props being used on an NBA rookie having a great season. Is Chet Holmgren really “phenomenal?”
The Oklahoma City Thunder first year man is certainly having a great season, putting up some impressive numbers. Still, Holmgren is only (as of this writing) about 30 games into his NBA career. Too soon for words like “phenomenal?”
On a recent podcast with former Miami Heat teammate Udonis Haslem and show host Adam Lefkoe, O’Neal objected in no uncertain terms to offering such high praise to the young player.
Shaq: “Y’all throwin’ around words that we had to work hard for. Phenomenal’s not the right word. … He’s good, but don’t be going promising and great and future Hall of Famer.”
He continued: “Startin’ today, I’m puttin’ an end to all that s—. I am, startin’ today. Y’all can’t just be giving these people things who ain’t put in no work. Phenomenal is the wrong word. And you can’t use dominant unless he does it for a consistent amount of time. I’m not talkin’ two or three games. I’m talkin’ years.”
How is Holmgren doing so far? As we said, nice numbers. He’s averaging 17.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game. The OKC star is actually two years into his NBA career. He was the Number 2 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, but he sat out all of last season with a foot injury.
With his help, and an good rest of the lineup, the Thunder are off to a good start, even if they’re flying under the radar for now. The team sports a 22-9 record so far, good enough for the number 2 slot in the NBA Western Conference, two games behind the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Click here for the full podcast video.
How about a comp to our man Shaq? O’Neal was the Number 1 overall pick in the 1992 NBA Draft. In his rookie season (1992-93) with the Orlando Magic, he averaged 23.4 points, 13.9 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game in 81 appearances. He eventually helped the Magic reach the 1995 NBA Finals in his third season.
As for Holmgren, some have used the word “dominant” to describe his play. Well, that was pretty much Shaq’s default mode for his career. As we know, O’Neal won three NBA championships with the Lakers and another with Haslem and the Heat. Is Holmgren “dominant”?” Only time will tell.
Speaking of the Lakers… if OKC continues to play well, those two teams will probably hook up during the postseason Championship tournament. In two games between the teams so far this year, it’s been a split, with Holmgren averaging 18.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game in the two contests. OKC and the Lakers have another games scheduled January 15th in Los Angeles.
Keep playing hard, young Holmgren. Perhaps Shaq will eventually issue the much-coveted ticket to the Big Man’s Club some day!