Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren was helped to the locker room after a hard fall in the first quarter of Sunday’s matchup with the Golden State Warriors. He was later ruled out for the rest of the game with a right hip injury.
Just over halfway through the quarter, Holmgren jumped to contest a layup attempt by Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins. As Wiggins made contact with Holmgren’s upper half, his lower half tilted parallel to the floor as he suffered a scary fall. The brunt of the impact appeared to be on Holmgren’s right hip and side.
The 7-foot-1 big man gave the thumbs up as he made his way to the locker room at Paycom Center, but did not return to the game.
Holmgren, who finished scoreless with four rebounds in five minutes of action, is off to a fantastic start to his sophomore season. He’s increased his numbers across the board, entering Sunday’s game with averages of 18 points and nine rebounds. His 2.9 blocks per game were good for second in the NBA.
It remains to be seen whether Holmgren, who missed his entire first NBA season due to foot surgery, will require a stint on the inactive list, but the Thunder will have to scramble at center if that’s the case. Prized offseason acquisition Isaiah Hartenstein, who would be the next in line in the middle, is still out after breaking his left hand during a preseason game, while backup center Jaylin Williams will miss at least a couple more weeks with a hamstring injury. Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault will likely rely on small-ball lineups for as long as Holmgren is out.