Why it's 'no fluke' Chet Holmgren has won at every level

Apr 8, 2026; Inglewood, California, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren (7), center Isaiah Hartenstein (55) and Los Angeles Clippers center Brook Lopez (11) reach for a rebound in the first half at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Jumping off the floor to get the offensive rebound, John Collins hoped to catch a highlight. The dunking savant made the critical error of trying to posterize Chet Holmgren. Almost offended at the attempt, the seven-footer completely swallowed the ball away in his nastiest rejection of the night. Talking to himself, he was sky-high on confidence.

The Oklahoma City Thunder handled business in a 128-110 win over the LA Clippers. With a full cast suited up, they officially clinched the first seed for the 2026 NBA playoffs.

Holmgren finished with 30 points on 10-of-13 shooting, 14 rebounds and five assists. He shot 3-of-4 from 3 and went 7-of-10 on free throws. He also had four blocks and two steals.

If you ever wonder what Holmgren looks like at the peak of his powers, rewatch this game film. Just a complete takeover on both ends of the floor. On the cusp of the first seed, the 23-year-old had one of his best games ever to ensure the Thunder didn't mess around with fate.

Showing off his full bag, Holmgren was surgical at all four levels. Around the rim, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander spoonfed him alley-oops. Things were too easy at that level. No offense to Brook Lopez, but LA doesn't possess a true rim protector to limit the attempts. Around the baseline, the seven-footer swished in several attempts. It was at the juncture of the game where the basket probably looked wide-open to him.

And then there were the outside jumpers. Holmgren knocked down his catch-and-shoot looks. Now, that might be his most important variable. Over the last two playoff runs, his outside shot has waned. Credit that to fatigue or whatever you want. But over the last week, it's been the opposite. If he can shoot at a decent clip from the perimeter, that adds a new element to OKC's postseason offense that hasn't frankly been there.

Oh, and Holmgren went to the free-throw line plenty of times. The secretive fourth scoring level in the NBA. It's what separates decent scorers from upper-echelon ones — as Gilgeous-Alexander preached earlier. Holmgren got a taste of that. The Clippers resorted to fouling the seven-footer as he hunted for his shot once he realized he had entered a flow state.

Seven paragraphs in and we're barely touching on Holmgren's defense. Just one-for-one stuff. The box score stats speak for themselves, but watching the game shows even more nuance to how he completely shortens the halfcourt geometry. Aside from Leonard, nobody else dared to frequently attack the rim.

"From the moment he got here, we were a winning basketball team. I think Chet was the No. 1 recruit in high school. His high school team was the number one team in the city. His college team was the number one," Gilgeous-Alexander said about Holmgren. "Chet just wins, and that's all it is. There's no coincidence, no fluke."

This was one of Holmgren's best games of his career. And I don't think that's reactionary. He had 14 points in the first quarter. And 24 at halftime. The Thunder were in complete control against the Clippers as Gilgeous-Alexander took a backseat to his fellow NBA All-Star's takeover.

"I feel like my understanding of urgency with patience has gotten a lot better. I feel like earlier on, I was trying to win the Super Bowl on every single play, and now that I've played a lot of games, I understand a lot more than just putting pressure on other teams. All 48 minutes, they're going to make mistakes," Holmgren said. "You're gonna find cracks. You’re going to have opportunities. So it's not always about trying to force anything on one single play, but more so just about having the right amount of pressure that you put on the other team."

I'm sure you've seen the social media posts, but Holmgren has won at every level he's played organized basketball. And I mean that literally. From his Minnehaha Academy days to Gonzaga to the Thunder. When he's suited up for a season, his squad has had the first seed. The Thunder don't believe that's just a wild coincidence. His playstyle gardens high-end basketball. Now, OKC is the first seed once again.

"I'd say adversity is never unexpected. It pops up in different ways and injuries are one of the ways we've seen it this year and you just can't turn them into excuses," Holmgren said. "I thought we did a good job just fighting through everything that we saw this year, and it's paid off.”

This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Why it's 'no fluke' Chet Holmgren has won at every level