Kristaps Porzingis raves about Thunder rookie after 1st showdown

With the Thunder downing the league-best Celtics, it was no surprise considering the state of the Oklahoma City roster. There’s plenty of talent there with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leading the way, and the Thunder also have plenty of draft assets moving forward.

But one of the most anticipated rookie coming into this season was Chet Holmgren, who missed all of last year because of a foot injury. He possesses similar wonder to Celtics star Kristaps Porzingis as talented big men who are both 7-footers. Porzingis already had complimentary words for the Thunder rookie.

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“I love his mindset,” Porzingis told reporters in Oklahoma City. “Just the way he plays, you can tell that he’s a hard worker and he’s playing really hard. Honestly I’m a little bit surprised. He’s really good and he’s already really effective on a really, really good team.”

Holmgren helped the Thunder beat the Celtics 127-123 as the Boston comeback fell short Tuesday. Holmgren put up 14 points, seven assists and four blocks in his 33 minutes as he was seemingly everywhere on the court. As Porzingis noted, the 21-year-old is still going through his first full playing season in the NBA, so there’s a steep learning curve. But Holmgren impressed regardless of that.

The Thunder and the basketball world will hope Holmgren can stay healthy. Porzingis has endured similar injury issues throughout his career. It’s not too surprising considering their tall frames and the amount of stress their bodies go through. But for now, Holmgren will continue turning heads.

“He’s the real deal,” Porzingis said. “I think he’s only going to get better. Especially as a rookie, what I’m most surprised about is his effectiveness, his efficiency. He has a bright future ahead of him.”