Chet Holmgren returns after 11-month injury lay-off in Oklahoma City Thunder win over Utah Jazz

Chet Holmgren made his long-awaited return to the court after 11 months out and showed flashes of the talent that made him such an exciting prospect.

Holmgren was the No 2 overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft but missed his entire rookie season for the Oklahoma City Thunder after a foot injury that required surgery.

The 7ft center-forward was back on Monday, amassing 15 points, nine rebounds and four blocks during the Thunder’s 95-85 victory over the Utah Jazz in the Summer League opener.

His return began with a few blunders and a scoreless first quarter but afterwards Holmgren said: ‘The last thing I wanted to do was come out here and be timid, so I wanted to come out of the gates and be aggressive and look to impact the game.’ 

The 21-year-old added: ‘Obviously with that, you can make mistakes or miss shots, and that’s part of the game. 

Holmgren missed his entire rookie season for the Oklahoma City Thunder after a foot injury

‘Whether you’ve just played a hundred straight games without missing one or missed the whole season, mistakes come with the game, and I just got to learn from them.’

Holmgren suffered the foot injury during a pro-am in his previous appearance last August. 

On Monday in Salt Lake City, his game began to click from the second quarter and one highlight of his performance was a 40-foot touch pass to Jaylin Williams for a layup.

‘That’s just new-school basketball,’ Holmgren said. ‘I look forward to making it happen more.’

Holmgren has played in pickup and small-sided games since regaining his fitness. 

‘The foot feels great,’ he added. ‘It’s like the injury never happened, other than everything I had to go through obviously. 

‘But at this point, if you erased my memory, I wouldn’t know that anything had happened to my foot other than the scars from surgery… not being able to play a game for a year, it’s really, really hard to test and see where you are.’

‘The foot feels great… it’s like the injury never happened,’ Holmgren said following his return

The 7ft center-forward has played in pickup and small-sided games since regaining his fitness