Chet Holmgren Reveals How SGA Silenced Him During Clutch Performance

The Oklahoma City Thunder are still the team to beat in the NBA. On Sunday night, they proved it once again. After going down 19 points to the Memphis Grizzlies in the first half, the Thunder surged back and ended up beating the Grizzlies 114–100. 

The Thunder were led as usual by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The reigning MVP and Finals MVP hasn't slowed down from his incredible season last year. He is back and ready to continue to try to hold the trophy of the best player in the league.

At one point in the Grizzlies’ game, however, his teammate, Chet Holmgren, started to doubt Shai’s approach in a specific moment of the game. 

"He shut me up. He missed the two threes right before that. I was saying in time out, 'we got to put some rim pressure and give them a chance to mess up'. And then he comes out and bangs two. So, he shut me up, and that's what he does - took the game over, made big plays down the stretch. Nothing new, nothing surprising."

This shows just how connected the Thunder are as a team. When one player has something to say, they say it, no matter how big a star they are. In this case, however, it didn’t even matter.

Shai heard what Holmgren had to say, ignored it, and balled out anyway. The beauty of the Thunder is that Holmgren isn’t going to hold a grudge. He is just going to tip his hat to SGA and say, “Damn, you’re that good.” 

These types of relationships and dynamics within the Thunder are what make them so dangerous.