Chet Holmgren’s injury nightmare a familiar NBA scenario

By John Fanta
FOX Sports College Basketball Writer

The Chet Holmgren era will have to wait.

Holmgren, the most debated prospect in the 2022 NBA Draft class, will be on the shelf for the entirety of what was supposed to be his rookie year because of a Lisfranc injury to his right foot, the Thunder announced Thursday morning.

The setback is exactly what NBA general managers and talent evaluators feared about Holmgren, whose 7-foot, 195-pound frame was a point of concern for some leading up to the draft. The pick, made by Thunder general manager Sam Presti, was viewed as high-risk, high-reward.

The nature of the injury was odd, happening during an exhibition event — Jamal Crawford’s “CrawsOver Pro-Am” in Seattle. But perhaps the bigger concern for the Thunder is the long, checkered history behind big men who suffer lower-body injuries.

In some ways, Holmgren’s current situation is reminiscent of 2007 No. 1 overall draft pick Greg Oden. Oden was surrounded by extraordinary expectations out of Ohio State after a monster college career, but ended up missing his rookie season with a knee injury and in the two following seasons he only appeared in a combined 82 games.

While Oden’s body type is opposite of Holmgren’s, he inevitably dealt with too many injury issues to overcome. After a brief comeback attempt with Miami at the edge of 26, Oden was out of the league for good. 

Unfortunately, Oden’s far from the only player whose injuries prevented them from seeing their full potential. Just look at 2002 No. 1 draft pick Yao Ming.

Of course, when Ming was on the floor, he was an All-Star center — his No. 11 is retired by the Houston Rockets for a reason. But in just eight seasons, Ming missed 180 games. From the osteomyelitis in his left big toe in 2005, to breaking the same foot in 2006, to a stress fracture in his left ankle in 2010, the injuries just kept mounting for the Chinese superstar.

Sure, the Thunder would be delighted with Holmgren being named an All-Star eight times like Ming, but the amount of injuries that Ming went through prevented him from being the legendary superstar that he could have been, and perhaps kept Houston from winning a championship.

Another injury-plagued example comes from 1984 No. 2 overall draft pick Sam Bowie, who was selected by the Trail Blazers (over Michael Jordan, famously) to be their next franchise center after Bill Walton, whose first two seasons in Portland were decimated by chronic foot injuries. Notice a trend? Poor…