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How Chet Holmgren’s offseason approach led to a strong Thunder start
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- How Chet Holmgren’s offseason approach led to a strong Thunder start
The post How Chet Holmgren's offseason approach led to a strong Thunder start appeared first on ClutchPoints .
OKLAHOMA CITY — After Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren made franchise history with his perfect shooting night in Tuesday's 123-102 win against the Golden State Warriors , he revealed his newfound approach to the offseason, which he believes has led to a stellar start to the 2025-26 regular season as defending champions. As a team and individually, Holmgrem and the Thunder are off to a historic start.
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Holmgren reflected on his past, which included a short offseason between the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons, due to the COVID pandemic, and how it prepared him for a productive offseason after winning his first championship.
"A lot of times I think back to that year where I was hurt before I played a single basketball game in the NBA, and I worked just as hard that summer as I did this summer," Holmgren said. "Obviously, this summer was longer, but I feel like I've learned how to get better now. I know what I need to get better at. Before, I was just working hard because I wanted to work hard, and it's just kind of what I do, and I love to play basketball every day.
"But going through a long playoff stretch and winning the Finals, you really get the best shots up to seven times in a row against really good teams. And that teaches you what you have to work on. I feel like I did a great job this summer of taking that, along with what I do every summer, work on my body, work on my overall game, but I feel like I'm learning how to work smart, alongside work hard."
Chet Holmgren had a perfect shooting performance in Thunder win
Petre Thomas-Imagn Images
Thunder forward Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein's impressive starts to the regular season have anchored the frontcourt for head coach Mark Daigneault. Before helping the defending champions to an 11-1 league-leading record, Holmgren used the summer to hone in on what he needed most this season.
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"Part of it is — over the summer — building your body to be able to do what it needs asked to do. But it was also working on all of the technical things — the shot, where I want to be more effective on the court, inside the 3-point line, outside the 3-point line, transitions; everything," Holmgren said. "And then, just coming into the season with an understanding that I've worked on things in the summer, but everybody else was working on their own things in the summer.
"Now, over the course of the season, we have to have great attention to learning everybody's improvements, and how to play with each other now that everybody's better at different things."
The Thunder will host the Lakers on Wednesday, the second night of a back-to-back.
Related: The day Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook were called out by Scott Brooks
Related: Warriors' 73-win record in clear and present danger after Thunder's 11-1 start
