No.2 Draft pick Chet Holmgren hoping to emulate former Sam Presti picks: Durant, Westbrook, Harden
- Sean Fisher
- 27 June 2022
Oklahoma City Thunder General Manager Sam Presti boasts an incredible CV of NBA Draft picks. His latest addition is hoping to emulate the success of his predecessors.
Oklahoma City Thunder used their second overall Draft pick to acquire 7ft Chet Holmgren, capable of playing both center and power forward positions.
He played his college basketball for the Gonzago Bulldogs, and was quickly highlighted as a potential future star for the NBA.
In the 2022 Draft, he was picked up by Oklahoma City Thunder, who are managed by none other than Sam Presti.
Presti boasts an incredible record when it comes to Draft picks, having picked up Kevin Durant at No.2 in 2007, Russell Westbrook at No.4 in 2008, and James Harden at No.3 in 2009.
⚡️🧢⚡️ pic.twitter.com/Lq12Y1vtUD
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) June 25, 2022
That exact trio took Thunder to the NBA Finals in 2012 and were shortly after named in the top 75 greatest players in league history.
It'd be some ask for Holmgren to follow directly in their footsteps, but the 20-year-old star isn't shying away from the expectation.
"It's hard to miss those guys and what they've done if you watch a lot of basketball, and I watch a lot of basketball," Holmgren said.
"They've done some special things here as well as other places, wherever they've gone. Great players. It's not necessarily pressure, it's just that I have expectations and goals for myself and I want to work hard to achieve those."
When asked what his role in the team would be, Holmgren replied "Just going out there and being a great floor spacer, vertically and horizontally, whether it's lob threats, space the floor from three, find them in transition.
"Whatever it might be that coach draws up, I feel like I can go out there and help execute that and help make my teammates better as well as them helping me be better."
Holmgren Homies 🫡 pic.twitter.com/xyBSZB4wBF
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) June 24, 2022
Presti clearly feels that Holmgren can be central to a championship-winning side, and he feels as though his latest Draft star is ready to impress in his rookie season.
"We want to have a long run of sustained success that's going to take some time to get to that point," Presti said after the draft.
"We think he's a critical part to it, but we're going to have to put him in positions to be successful. I'm very confident he'll be ready, willing and able to put in all the work. That's one of the things about him that was really attractive."
