In a 98-77 win over the Utah Jazz, Holmgren wowed fans with 24 minutes on the court, setting records on the go.
The 20-year-old big man finished with 23 points, including 4 of 6 attempts from three-point range, seven rebounds and four assists.
He also finished with six blocks, the most in an NBA Summer League game.
According to ESPN, Holmgren became the first player in Summer League history to hit at least five blocks and hit four three-pointers.
Playing alongside a lot of the Thunder’s young talents – Josh Giddy, Alexei Pokusevski, Jalyn Williams and Jalen Williams – Holmgren immediately stood out for his size and shooting ability.
The seven-foot player from Gonzaga fixed the paint with his size and showed off some of the cunning offensive skills he had already learned.
He decisively dunked the ball to score his first points, landed a three-point shot to Taco Fall’s seven-foot-six face, and landed an elusive mid-range shot that bore an uncanny resemblance to NBA Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki. .
“Say hello to this guy,” he said, pointing to Giddy. “Double-double with assists. Great night for him and it helped me a lot.”
“A selection as high as this one puts a lot of pressure on him and he handled it as well as he could. It makes my job easier by playing with someone like him. He can stretch the floor, finish at the rim.” He protects me, he put me back on the defensive. So I like to play with him. It was one game and the chemistry just gets stronger.”
The Thunder’s coaching staff were also impressed with Holmgren’s debut performance.
“He certainly had a great game, but what impressed me the most was that he did it as part of our offense. It looked like team basketball and he was successful at what we do.”
