OKLAHOMA CITY — On the eve of his playoff debut, Chet Holmgren couldn’t wait to take the field.
“I’m very anxious,” the Oklahoma City Thunder star said Saturday, ahead of Sunday’s opener against the New Orleans Pelicans. “I’m ready to play, ready to start. I’m excited about it. I wouldn’t say nervous. But I’m worried, that’s for sure.
Holmgren and the Thunder, the Western Conference’s top seed, had six days off after closing out the regular season last Sunday. Rest helped. Holmgren’s attention remained. He called the time off refreshing, but said he hasn’t strayed far from the team’s practice facility.
“I wasn’t just sitting around,” he said. “I was still here, doing what I love to do.”
Finally, after a fantastic regular season that bordered on domination, the time has come to see how it will play out in the postseason. No one can know how far the Thunder will travel in the playoffs. After ranking top five on offense and defense, they certainly have the makings of a team capable of making a deep playoff run. What remains to be seen is how they will overcome the potential dangers of youth and inexperience that arise over the course of a seven-game series.
With an average age of 23.4, the Thunder are the youngest No. 1 seed team in NBA history, according to StatMuse. Only six Thunder players have playoff experience: Gordon Hayward, Bismack Biyombo, Mike Muscala, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort and Isaiah Joe. They have totaled just 2,623 playoff minutes in 134 playoff games.
For comparison, Pelicans starters CJ McCollum and Jonas Valančiūnas together played 1,047 more minutes in the playoffs than the Thunder roster and only 17 fewer playoff games.
And yet Holmgren, 10 days shy of his 22nd birthday, seemed like the leader of a team of seasoned players who have been here before. He spoke calmly as he discussed everything from his playoff memories to the playoff mentality he carries into Game 1.
“The playoffs are a time of tremendous change,” Holmgren said. “And you can’t let the flow of things allow your emotions to run wild one way or the other, good or bad. If you win a match, the series is not over. If you lose a match, the series is not over. It doesn’t matter which way you lose or win. A buzzer, a blowout, whatever. You have to prepare for the next game because no team is going to turn around and give you anything.
After capturing the West’s No. 1 seed, the Thunder are no longer a team of the future, although there is ample room for endless possibilities with the team’s core and how the franchise is positioned in the long term. But Oklahoma City happened. Sunday is the players’ first chance to prove it, and a dominant first game of the playoffs will only increase their already sky-high external expectations.
The Thunder are back in the playoffs for the first time in three seasons and, whether it’s this season or any subsequent season for the foreseeable future, the bar is a championship. Oklahoma City has qualified for the NBA Finals. An appearance would be applauded, even appreciated. A sea of fans greeted the players at the airport in the middle of the night, as is tradition here. But the mission would not be accomplished.
At some point, all of the Thunder’s promises for tomorrow have to materialize in a parade. Here, there is unfinished business from 2011 and 2012. There are the regrets of 2014 and, of course, the ghost of 2016. The same people who still bear those scars have now pinned their hope on the baby-faced group of this year.
“We’ve had expectations around us all the time, whether they’re very high or very low,” Holmgren said. “We never try to pay attention to it and let that determine what success is for us. We love determining our own success and coming here and just being the best version of ourselves. Whether those are other people’s expectations of us or not, that’s what we’re going to do.
It’s impossible to ignore the changing landscape of the league and how the young Thunder are once again at the center of transformation. After three consecutive seasons of improving their record, their rise to the top of the West is reminiscent of that of 13 years ago.
After leaving Seattle in 2008, the Thunder built on a 20-win season by winning 23, 50 and 55 games in his first three seasons in Oklahoma City. Like today, these Thunder teams were considered ahead of their time. They made their way to the Western Conference Finals in 2011 before losing to the eventual champion, the Dallas Mavericks. They then advanced to the NBA Finals in 2012, but lost to LeBron James and the Miami Heat.
James, winner of four of the last 12 championships, and his Los Angeles Lakers could be headed for a first-round exit against the defending champion Denver Nuggets. Stephen Curry, who has four more titles in the last 12 titles, and his Golden State Warriors did not make the playoffs.
The door is open to a new challenger to the NBA throne.
“Well, I mean, I don’t think those guys have retired,” Holmgren said. “I would certainly like to pay tribute to them for all the success they have had and congratulate us for being hungry for success in the future and in the present. This is not about bashing anyone or giving anyone too much credit. I’m just going to say that.
The Thunder approaches these playoffs with respect for everyone but fear of no one.
“Age is just a number,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “There is a difference between youth and maturity.”
And there are possible advantages to being a historically young, top-seeded team.
“I feel like it helps our chemistry,” Thunder guard Cason Wallace said. “Everyone can be themselves. Be clumsy. Be free. And we all feed off each other’s energy.
With a home crowd that has historically been one of the loudest in the NBA, Holmgren was asked Saturday if he could imagine what Game 1 would be like.
“A sea of white, man,” he said. “A lot of people stood up to applaud. Deafening sound from everyone clapping. And a lot of enthusiasm.
(Photo by Chet Holmgren: Layne Murdoch Jr./NBAE via Getty Images)