The NBA Finals are around the corner as the OKC Thunder prepare to take on the Indiana Pacers in their first Finals appearance in over a decade. From James Harden, Kevin Durant, and Russell Westbrook in 2012 to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren in 2025, the Thunder have made it to the Finals yet again on the backs of three highly talented players.
Chet Holmgren has become the X-factor for the Thunder, who, even Anthony Edwards admitted, was the game changer in pivotal moments of their Western Conference Finals series with the Timberwolves. However, Shaquille O’Neal believes Holmgren has not done enough to warrant his name in the ‘Big 3’ status for OKC. He feels Holmgren is at best a role player, and the public is rushing to award him a spot of that status.
“We’re all responsible for this, we give away too many titles sometimes. They got a big two, that mo***rf***ker Jay Dub is serious, he can play. The other guy’s just a role player, stop it… But he’s a great role player. He’s a Horace Grant or Tony Kukoc, not taking away, but he’s not a big three, stop it, stop it”, said O’Neal in an appearance on the Pivot Podcast.
The Lakers legend seems unimpressed with the former No. 2 overall pick, Holmgren. He has averaged 16.4 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in 16 games in the 2025 playoffs so far. In the last series against the Timberwolves, he averaged 18.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game. While these numbers don’t scream All-Star caliber to anyone, his role on the team is pivotal enough to say the Thunder would not be where they are without Holmgren.
In the 2022-23 season, Holmgren suffered from a Lisfranc injury at the beginning of his rookie year. This forced him to miss the entire season, where the OKC roster was built on the same core of Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams, Dort, and more. The Thunder finished the season in the 10th seed with only 40 wins in the regular season and an exit in the Play-in tournament itself.
This shows how pivotal Holmgren has been in providing size inside the paint, being a big to stretch the floor, and a shot blocker to fill the holes in the Thunder roster. His inclusion propelled them from a playoff contender to a championship contender in less than two years.
Chet Holmgren Got The Last Laugh Over Anthony Edwards
After the Thunder won the Western Conference Finals against the Timberwolves, Holmgren went on social media to post his pictures from the series. The Minnesota native captioned it “welcome home Chet” to signify a subtle shot at Anthony Edwards, who used those words in February to react to a posterizing dunk over Holmgren.
Holmgren used that incident as fuel for himself as he helped the Thunder reach the Finals for the first time in 12 years. Following Game 4 of the series as well, Edwards admitted that the Timberwolves had an answer for everyone except Holmgren. Maybe he’s not a superstar yet, but in my opinion, he’s important enough to the Thunder team that he elevates from a role player status to the big three status.
