Mar 19, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jaylin Williams (6) and Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren (7) high five after a play against the Philadelphia 76ers during the second half at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images / Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
Oklahoma City has flexed its big-man muscle ever since Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein have been consistently introduced, as head coach Mark Daigneault has paired the tandem in the starting lineup frequently.
It’s shown that these two can coexist in the team’s core five, and it’s led to the Thunder claiming rebound battles in a surplus of contests as of late, and certainly more than the Oklahoma City team from a year ago. Last season, the Thunder was in the bottom four of teams in the rebounding category.
Since the addition of Hartenstein, they’ve improved to the top 11. That’s one thing that has remained consistent. Of course, with Hartenstein averaging 11.4 points a night and Holmgren with 14.8 points a night across 77 games between the both of them, only 26 coming from Holmgren, they’ve shown their ability to score.
Though, they aren’t always scoring at a high rate. But when one is down, the other seems to rise up. That was shown last night versus the Memphis Grizzlies, where Hartenstein logged 18 points compared to Holmgren’s four. And the game before that, Holmgren found success with 18 points of his own compared to Hartenstein’s four.
This is a case-by-case basis, and one having a solid night does not come to the detriment of the other, rather one is able to shoulder a bit more of the scoring load in the front court.
And for the big who hasn’t been brought up in the conversation quite yet, Jaylin Williams, he’s also been competing at a high level when called upon. In March, Williams has captured a season-best 7.6 points along with 5.9 rebounds and half a block per game.
On March 7 against the Portland Trail Blazers, Williams gathered his first-ever triple-double in his career in Hartenstein and Holmgren’s absence. Just over a week later, he posted an even more impressive triple-double being placed in the starting lineup alongside Holmgren.
Nineteen points, 17 boards and 11 assists from Williams uplifted Oklahoma City to a 33-point win over the Philadelphia 76ers on March 19.
In any case, the big-man rebounding issue that was prevalent in Bricktown a year ago is comparitively nullified, and the Thunder’s worries in that regard heading into the postseason are much less than a year ago.
