Entering the
NBA
Photo by Gonzaga Athletics
CHET HOLMGREN
By John Stewart
I
attempted to complete this prospect writeup before the 2022 NBA draft, however that did not end up happening. We now know that Chet was selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder and will likely spend a considerable amount of his career in Oklahoma City. Regardless, since we haven’t seen Chet play yet I believe my pre-draft thoughts are still of some intrigue.
I really wanted to be able to use a catchy name with some alliteration to describe my top four ranked players in the 2022 NBA draft. The “fab four”,the “fantastic four”,or even (admittedly less exciting) the “frankly fine four” would have worked. Chet Holmgren, Jaden Ivey, Paolo Bancharo, and Jabari Smith are all better than “fine.” Each one of these young men is exciting, skilled, and overwhelmingly likely to play high-level basketball for a long time. But, certain individual limitations limit the top of the 2022 NBA draft from having the same top-end talent as, say, the 2019 NBA draft.
Let’s start with Chet Holmgren from Gonzaga University. A tantalizing defender with the horizontal athleticism of a forward, the straight-line speed of a guard, and the rim protection of a big makes him truly unique. My favorite defensive comparison for him is the Memphis Grizzles' Jarren Jackson. I rarely compare individuals to thecityinsightmag.com 14
