No. 2 overall pick Chet Holmgren will miss the entire 2022-23 NBA season.
On August 24th, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported that it is feared that Holmgren has suffered ligament damage in his right foot. On August 25th the thunder announced that the 20-year-old will miss his rookie season with a Lisfranc injury.
The Thunder selected Holmgren with the No. 2 pick in the 2022 NBA draft. He showed his potential in the NBA Summer League, averaging 14.0 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.8 blocks in five games.
What’s next for Holmgren? Here’s everything we know about his injury.
What is Chet Holmgren’s injury?
Holmgren has sustained a Lisfranc injury to his right foot. Here is the Cedars-Sinai definition of a Lisfranc joint injury:
A Lisfranc joint injury is a type of injury to the bones or ligaments, or both, in the middle part of your foot. A Lisfranc joint injury usually damages the cartilage that covers these bones.
Before confirming Holmgren’s injury, In Street Clothes’ Jeff Stotts speculated that the injury could be a Lisfranc injury and provided context on the function of that area of the foot.
One of the biggest concerns here would be a Lisfranc midfoot injury. This area of the foot helps stabilize the foot and transfer loads during weight bearing.
—Jeff Stotts (@InStreetClothes) August 24, 2022
Holmgren appeared to pinch his ankle while defending LeBron James in transition during a game in Jamal Crawford’s CrawsOver Pro-Am League on Aug. 20. Holmgren left the game and did not return.
Here is a video of the sequence:
Chet Holmgren appeared to have injured his ankle while guarding LeBron on that possession 👀pic.twitter.com/AMbvC7N1sq
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) August 21, 2022
Holmgren is believed to have sustained the injury at that game.
MORE: Why LeBron’s CrawsOver Pro-Am gig was canceled
How long will Chet Holmgren be out?
Holmgren will miss the entire rookie season and delay his NBA debut until the 2023-24 season.
The news comes as a devastating blow to the Thunder, who have missed the playoffs for the past two seasons and are trying to build a future around the trio of Holmgren, Josh Giddey and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
In the official announcement of the franchise, Sam Presti, Thunder’s Executive Vice President and General Manager, made the following statement:
Of course we’re disappointed for Chet, especially given the excitement he’s had about being on the ground with his teammates this season. We know that Chet has a long career ahead of us within our organization and the Oklahoma City community. One of the things that impressed us the most about choosing Chet was his determination and focus. We expect that same tenacity will carry him through this time as we work together and support him through his rehabilitation.