Chet Holmgren season-ending injury: How Thunder star can follow path of Blake Griffin, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons
It was a rough day for NBA fans as Chet Holmgren picked Thunder No. 2 overall was diagnosed with a Lisfranc injury to the right footexcluding him for his entire rookie season.
The 20-year-old suffered the injury at the weekend’s CrawsOver Pro-Am in Seattle when he tried to stop LeBron James on a quick break before limping up.
For those of you saying, “I told you so,” regarding Holmgren’s stature and ability to handle NBA-level physicality — just stop. The rare talent had already put in an impressive performance at the NBA Summer League, demonstrating all of the unique skills that make him the critically acclaimed talent that he is.
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And while we’ve robbed it of seeing Holmgren prove himself in actual NBA games this season, that injury says nothing at all about how the Gonzaga product will fare at the next level in the future.
The saying goes, “A small setback for a big comeback,” and the blueprint is already in place for Holmgren, who will seek to get behind other current NBA stars who suffered season-ending injuries before their NBA careers took off.
Blake Griffin, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons — who have 14 All-Star appearances combined — all missed their rookie years due to offseason-ending injuries.
All three future stars dominated the rookie campaigns after a year of recovery and training, and Griffin and Simmons both took home Rookie of the Year awards.
What injuries have these three stars sustained and can Holmgren follow the same path?
Blake Griffins
Injury: Knee – Non-displaced stress fracture in the left kneecap
Griffin struggled with nagging injuries to both knees in college, and these issues eventually delayed the start of his NBA career. The No. 1 pick in the 2009 NBA draft missed his entire rookie season after sustaining a non-displaced stress fracture in his left patella during his last preseason game.
After a year of training and recovery, Griffin returned and enjoyed one of the best rookie seasons in NBA history.
The 21-year-old averaged a staggering 22.5 points, 12.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game, becoming the first rookie selected for the All-Star Game since Yao Ming in 2003. Over a decade later, Griffin is still the last rookie selected for the All-Star team.
Griffin was unanimously voted Rookie of the Year and even received a few MVP votes.
Joel Embid
Injury: Foot – Stress fracture of the navicular bone in the right foot
Embiid’s situation is a bit different than Holmgren, Griffin or Simmons because he missed his first two NBA season due to injury and then was injured again during his rookie campaign.
Embiid had plenty of injury concerns in the NBA as he dealt with a back injury during his freshman season in Kansas. Teams were already beginning to shy away from the big man because of back problems, and then Embiid suffered a stress fracture in his right foot just before the draft.
The stress fracture caused Embiid to miss his entire rookie season, and as he began ramping things up for his NBA debut the following year, he broke the same bone in his right foot again in the offseason.
Now two years away from his actual rookie year, Embiid finally made his debut in 2016-17 and dominated until the injury bug struck him again.
Embiid averaged 20.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 2.1 assists in 31 games, but suffered a season-ending meniscus tear in the middle of his “rookie” season.
He made a full recovery and has been relatively healthy ever since. He won five All-Star selections, four All-NBA selections, three All-Defense selections, and most recently an NBA scoring title.
Ben Simmons
Injury: Foot – Fracture of the fifth metatarsal in the right foot
Simmons’ situation is most comparable to Holmgren’s as the 2016 No.1 overall winner picked up a foot injury during a practice session prior to his rookie season.
Simmons fractured the fifth metatarsal in his right foot (commonly known as a Jones fracture) and he was originally scheduled to return sometime during the season before the tanking 76ers decided to hold him out for the year.
When Simmons finally made his NBA debut the following season, the 21-year-old looked as polished as ever, averaging 15.8 points, 8.2 assists, 8.1 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game .
In addition to being named Rookie of the Year, Simmons helped lead the 76ers to the playoffs for the first time in five years. He has proven that a year of recovery and training prepared him to launch his NBA career – a blueprint that Holmgren will emulate in the rehab process next year.