Is Chet Holmgren going to be like a 7 foot Durant?

[Max123]

I know very little about this Chet and prospects overall; can anyone tell me what does his defensive potential look like?


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[crows2]

Holmgren is not, not ever will be, the scorer that Durant is.

[art_tatum]

Nobody named Chet does anything spectacular.

Spoiler:

I had a couple of childhood friends named Kyle and Tanner. Kyle was a mommas boy and Tanner lived in a boat. too accurate.

[God Squad]

Why don't they go to schools in nice, warm places that also pay, like USC, then?

Because most of these programs your mentioning suck compared to Zaga. There are more important things than "Nice, warm places"

[God Squad]

Kevin Durant already is a 7 foot Durant

KD is maybe 6'10" with sneakers. I love how people run with these laughable narratives like KD is 7' and Zion weighs 285 lbs.

Wrong.

Speaking to Bob Fitzgerald on KNBR, Durant put fact over fiction when answering the age-old question of how tall he really is. “Since I love you guys so much, I was recorded at 6’10” and three-quarters with no shoes, so with my shoes on I’m 7-feet,” Durant finally revealed.

So, why has Durant been listed at 6-foot-9 for so long?

“I just like messin’ with people. They just ask me so much… yeah, I just like messin’ with people.”

KD for his height, with his handle and shooting stoke is the real unicorn.

https://www.slamonline.com/nba/kevin-durant-finally-admits-hes-7-feet-tall/

[Pantsman]

Tall white and skinny? Bust

[DrCoach]

KD is 7ft KD

[cupcakesnake]

As much as KD is the archetype for giant, scrawny kids with handles, it's always too soon to say in terms of physical development. Despite the memes, Durant was able to add quite a bit of weight to his frame. He might not have tree trunk arms, but he's got a much more solid base and core than guys like Tayshaun Prince, Poku, Ingram.

Holgram looks great from the limited footage I've seen. Has some twitchy quickness to his game for a giant, lots of competitive fire. Some scrawny 7 foot teenagers grow up to be lanky, solid basketball playing bodies. Others struggle to add weight.

For players like this... never predict KD or KG, those really are the once-in-a-generation edition of this archetype. It's like calling every 7 foot 290lbs. guy Shaq, every 6'9 white shooter Bird, every tall passing point guard Magic. Chet is definitely an interesting prospect though, and we'll be assessing everything he does from here on out (if you hadn't already been doing that).

[HotelVitale]

Why do good recruits go to Gonzaga instead of going to places with great weather and nightlife like U. Miami or Pepperdine?

It's a one-year pit stop to parlay into an NBA career, not a major life move for your entire family where you're committing to living somewhere for at least half a decade like with NBA free agency. So profession considerations far outweigh lifestyle (and tbh pretty much any major college campus will have plenty of fun to offer an 18yo lol)

Yeah but why spend that one year in Spokane, WA instead of Malibu or San Diego? If I'm a top 10 recruit I'm teaming up in San Diego State University with my AAU bros, not waste a year of my youth in Duhram or Lexington.

Not sure if you're joking but D1 recruits spend like 80% of their day in a fully regimented routine, they're almost depressingly mature and focused on their game at the expense of f'ing around. Most players still do some partying and drinking but it's perfunctory and a very minor part of their lives.

Also these top guys are trying to be great and have a legit chance to be, and taking advantage of that is generally going to outweigh fun in the sun time. If you were one of the best writers or piano players or whatever in the country, would you really choose some whatever school over those that are the best in their fields because you might catch a few more beach days here and there?

[HotelVitale]

Kevin Durant already is a 7 foot Durant

KD is maybe 6'10" with sneakers. I love how people run with these laughable narratives like KD is 7' and Zion weighs 285 lbs.

Wrong.

Speaking to Bob Fitzgerald on KNBR, Durant put fact over fiction when answering the age-old question of how tall he really is. “Since I love you guys so much, I was recorded at 6’10” and three-quarters with no shoes, so with my shoes on I’m 7-feet,” Durant finally revealed. So, why has Durant been listed at 6-foot-9 for so long?“I just like messin’ with people. They just ask me so much… yeah, I just like messin’ with people.”

KD for his height, with his handle and shooting stoke is the real unicorn.
https://www.slamonline.com/nba/kevin-durant-finally-admits-hes-7-feet-tall/

Probably shouldn't confidently yell out 'wrong!' in what's basically a he said-she said debate. KD seems to like running around humble bragging that he lists himself shorter than he is, but his official measurements have always been about 6'10 in shoes and folks here have repeatedly pointed out that he doesn't look much taller than that compared to other guys. This thread on the topic was literally active yesterday: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2073383

[TravisScott55]

He'll be a bust.

[KqWIN]

I understand the urge to compare white guys to white guys, but from what I’ve seen he’s much more of a slasher/scorer than a Dirk/Porzingis type. He reminded me a lot of Giannis on offense. More touch and footwork than raw athleticism and strength, however. His pull-up 3 looks great too.

Defensively he’s a C right now....and he was dominating in a laughable way even against elite HS competition. Offensively I think he’s going to be really good no matter what. Just too much length, footwork, ball handling, and touch to not be effective. We‘ll have to wait and see if he’s Mo Bamba or Gobert on defense.

[HotelVitale]

I know very little about this Chet and prospects overall; can anyone tell me what does his defensive potential look like?

Not a Chet-expert but he's got very active and pretty quick hands and plays very hard. Could be rookie Porzingis-y on that end. And his timing and IQ seem good, but it's hard to tell when he's playing HS guys at that crazy different HS pace. He's also ludicrously skinny, remains to be seen how much he can bulk up and how much of a liability his lack of strength will be. Could be a big time problem.

[Pelly24]

I saw someone call him like a new Kevin Garnett. And Idk how to think about that but it feels accurate? He's super dominant on defense and can basically do everything on offense, too. I saw him play Emoni Bates and he decisively outplayed him (Emoni I think is also a future NBA All-Star FWIW). Chet is the real deal, it's hard to overstate how good he is.

[Harry Garris]

Nowhere near as fast or smooth as Durant. I thought people would be more careful with 7 foot guys playing like guards in highschool after the Thon Maker disaster. Bol Bol is another such case.

What are you talking about? Bol Bol was a second round pick.

The guy was considered as one of the best talents coming out of highschool.

I know but NBA scouts didn't fall for it so I don't know why you're comparing him to an actual draft bust like Thon Maker.

[madmaxmedia]

What's his burner account game look like?

In fact he started this thread with his burner RealGM account...

[shotsquatch]

Not sure if you're joking but D1 recruits spend like 80% of their day in a fully regimented routine, they're almost depressingly mature and focused on their game at the expense of f'ing around.

100% this. The most responsible and disciplined students I encountered at school were the athletes.

[shotsquatch]

I don't get the Holmgren hype. He looks sloppy and slow. I guess this combination of length and skill are pretty rare though.

The gold standard for guys with his frame is Kristaps. Check out this predraft workout video, it really highlights his unique coordination, strength, and athleticism. I don't see anything like this from Chet, and I struggle to imagine what his role would be in the NBA.

Watch on YouTube

[Lalouie]

Why do good recruits go to Gonzaga instead of going to places with great weather and nightlife like U. Miami or Pepperdine?

he probably looked on the map and thought "wow, all my folks have to do is drive west in a straight line"

holmgren that is

[MarcusBrody]

I don't get the Holmgren hype. He looks sloppy and slow. I guess this combination of length and skill are pretty rare though.

The gold standard for guys with his frame is Kristaps. Check out this predraft workout video, it really highlights his unique coordination, strength, and athleticism. I don't see anything like this from Chet, and I struggle to imagine what his role would be in the NBA.

Watch on YouTube

Porzingis is likely nearly 20 in that workout video (I think he turned 20 the summer after the draft). The footage of Holmgren is at 18 (possibly 17, depending where you watch). For people who have grown that big, another year or two often makes a big difference in their body catching up with their height. It's also easier to look good in a workout that you've trained for specifically than even playing against below your level competition.

That being said, I do think that a lot of Chet's success will be determined by whether he fills out a bit. Like a lot of people in this thread, I watched the video of the game he played against Emoni Bates and thought he looked really good, so I think he has great potential to be a very good NBA player but his body has to cooperate.