Hoping to energize a mundane Cleveland crowd, Donovan Mitchell went for the poster. He tried to baptize Chet Holmgren. Instead, the water was splashed right back at his face.

The Oklahoma City Thunder dismantled the Cleveland Cavaliers in a 136-104 win on MLK Day. Despite being severely short-handed, they enjoyed a lopsided victory.

Advertisement

Hours after Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was named a 2026 NBA All-Star starter, Holmgren added to his campaign why he should join his teammate at the weekend festivities.

Holmgren finished with 28 points on 11-of-16 shooting, eight rebounds and two assists. He shot 4-of-5 from 3 and went 2-of-5 on free throws. He also had two blocks.

Playing better in recent weeks, the Cavaliers regressed to some bad habits. The offense couldn’t get going. At the heart of that was an invisible game from inside. They shot just 24-of-53 (45.3%) inside of the paint. A freezing cold number compared to OKC’s 61.8%.

Despite players shuffling in and out of the lineup all season, Holmgren has been a constant. The rim protector has manned the NBA’s best defense. Since Isaiah Hartenstein’s been out, he’s returned to playing center. You’ve seen him slowly climb up the leaderboards for the top shot-blockers.

Advertisement

Considering what Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson said afterward, you can safely count on him to vote for Holmgren as an All-Star reserve.

“We got to the rim 19 times in the first half and we couldn’t finish. We got to the paint. We got to the rim. I’m disappointed in how we read the rim. They got Chet Holmgren in there,” Atkinson said. “He’s probably the No. 1 rim protector in the league and we didn’t kick it out.”

It’s nice to see Holmgren receive some respect from someone outside of the OKC building. There’s a reason why he’s the favorite to win Defensive Player of the Year this season. He’s had a career year on both sides of the floor. He should be a shoo-in to earn his first All-Star nod next month.

This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: NBA head coach calls Chet Holmgren the best rim protector in league