Chet Holmgren Sidelined For The Whole 2022-2023 Season
Updated: Sep 23, 2022
Chet Holmgren sidelined after injury for the entire season.
Maxine Jordan
Thurs, August 25th, 2022
After No. 2 overall pick Chet Holmgren injured his foot playing in a Pro-Am exhibition this passed weekend, he is being sidelined for the whole 2022-23 NBA season- which would have been his rookie campaign.
Although this is bad news, it doesn’t necessarily mean his career will struggle. History indicates that Holmgren could bounce back and still have an All-Star trajectory.
Since 2006, Greg Oden, Blake Griffin, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, all top three picks, missed their rookie season because of injuries, three of them still had productive careers.
Oden was the only one to fail to make the All-Rookie team his first season and he was also the only to fail to make multiple All-Star teams and did not make at least one All-NBA team. Griffin and Simmons both won Rookie of the Year Awards after they returned from their injuries. Embiid finished second in MVP voting for the past two seasons after he missed his career’s first two seasons. Griffin, Embiid and Simmons together have a total of 14 All-Star selections. Embiid stated once that his time on the sideline helped him. He improved his shooting and added strength to his frame.
"I haven't played in two years, but my game has gotten so much better," he said in 2016, before playing his first NBA game. "If you watch the game tape, I'm not the same guy." Hopefully Holmgren can approach this situation in the same way.