Feb. 2, 2026, 11:01 a.m. CT
Roaming the paint, Chet Holmgren kept his eye on Nikola Jokic. Going with the post-up spin move, the 23-year-old lasered in. He met the three-time MVP winner in the air to swat away his attempt. Going with the flow, the first-time All-Star had his moments in this signature win.
The Oklahoma City Thunder made a statement in their 121-111 win over the Denver Nuggets. The wire-to-wire victory showed that the reigning NBA champions are still the team to beat as they showed out for Sunday Night Basketball’s inaugural night.
Holmgren finished with 14 points on 3-of-10 shooting, four rebounds and one assist. He shot 1-of-7 from 3 and went 7-of-8 on free throws. He also had three blocks.
The jumper didn’t fall, but Holmgren helped in other ways. He remained aggressive as a scorer, which helped him have a busy night at the free-throw line. The box-score numbers don’t jump off the page, but there’s a reason why OKC comfortably won its minutes with him on the floor.
Even with the Nuggets’ hot scoring, they did very little inside the paint. Holmgren’s rim protection was flexed all night. Jokic never really settled down as a high-volume scorer. Instead, they relied on their jumpers to go in. And to their credit, they did for most of the night. It just didn’t matter because the Thunder did the same.
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“It was a lot of fun. You want to play against really good teams with really good players. We were glad that Jokic was able to get back and be healthy for this game. You want to play against teams with their best guys out there,” Holmgren said. “I think we did a good job at just executing. Especially down the stretch. Not getting comfortable having a lead late in the game. We really stuck with our stuff.”
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Cason Wallace will grab all of the headlines, but Holmgren remained a steady force. Because of how the game played out, he wasn’t asked to step up as a scorer. When he can simply play within the flow of the offense, that’s when he’s at his best. That’s how he was able to become a first-time All-Star.
“It means a lot. I just have a lot of people that I gotta be thankful for. The help they’ve given me along the way. From family, friends, coaches, old teammates, current teammates. The Thunder and the opportunity they give me and the position they put me in,” Holmgren said. “I’m just always forever thankful for that. I always say I never play for or chase things of that nature. That doesn’t mean that the gratitude for it and understanding of the gravity of it isn’t there. I’m extremely grateful.”