Oklahoma City Thunder star big man Chet Holmgren will miss the next 8-10 weeks after suffering a pelvic fracture in his team’s 127-116 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Sunday.
The injury has been deemed a “right iliac wing fracture”, and will keep Holmgren out of action for at least the next two months. OKC was quick to confirm that the 22 year old will be able to return this season, while adding that a more precise timeline for his return will be made available down the line.
Holmgren took a hard fall after colliding with Andrew Wiggins in the first quarter, landing on his right side. The big man remained down for some time, and was in visible discomfort following the collision. Holmgren would head back to the locker room with 6:50 remaining in the 1st quarter and wouldn’t return.
Across 9 games this season, the former number 2 overall draft pick has averaged 18.2pts/9.2reb/2.9blk per contest. With 26 blocks on the year, Holmgren trails only Victor Wembanyama for the league lead.
The injury couldn’t come at a worse time for OKC, as they’re already thin in the front court as offseason addition Isaiah Hartenstein continues to rehab a fractured left hand. While the team waits for the former Knick to join the lineup, they’ll likely need to roll with more “small ball” lineups than usual.
Jalen Williams, Aaron Wiggins, Ousmane Dieng and Dillon Jones will likely see an uptick in usage in the mean time.
OKC is next in action on Monday night vs. the Los Angles Clippers.