National Basketball Association

Chet Holmgren's Summer League debut: Impressive or not?

Updated Jul. 6, 2022 6:03 p.m. ET

Chet Holmgren had every reason to smile after his debut in the NBA Summer League on Tuesday night.

The No. 2 overall pick in the 2022 draft by the Oklahoma City Thunder, Holmgren quite simply put on a show in a victory over the Utah Jazz. The Gonzaga product led all scorers with 23 points. He drilled four of his six 3-point attempts. He grabbed seven rebounds and dished out four assists. He even notched a block against 7-foot-6 Tacko Fall.

Does Holmgren's summer debut prove doubters wrong?

Chet Holmgren shined in his NBA Summer League debut, finishing with 23 points, seven rebounds and a record six blocks and four threes. While many scouts cited his size as a big concern coming into the league, Colin Cowherd is not concerned. Hear why he believes Chet will succeed at some level in the NBA.

The outing left some observers impressed, including Colin Cowherd of "The Herd."

"I saw a little Dirk Nowitzki, but he's taller, and he may be able to handle the ball better," Cowherd said. "Dirk Nowitzki often could not get by defenders and was not strong physically, but was one of the great all-time scorers in league history."

The debut of the 20-year-old rookie had the NBA world abuzz, and on Wednesday's edition of "First Things First," Kevin Wildes explained why the performance was impressive — even though it came in Summer League.

"There has to be some bar of impressiveness, where the ‘it’s just Summer League' argument goes away," Wildes said. "And guess what? We crossed it last night, because he only played 23 minutes."

Chris Broussard agreed.

"I've learned to temper my enthusiasm and not overreact to what I see in the summer," he said. "That said, yes, it's a big deal! … I'm all in on Chet Holmgren! … This boy is bad — he did everything in his summer debut."

Nick Wright took a more tempered approach, however.

"I am rooting for Chet," Wright said. "My concerns, however, remain. … The Jazz were playing Tacko Fall, eight other undrafted guys and Jared Butler. … I don't think we can take, literally, anything from it. This was a worse [Jazz] team than the majority of the teams he faced in the NCAA Tournament."

Chet Holmgren puts on show in Summer League debut

While it's never a good idea to overreact to Summer League performances, Kevin Wildes has nothing but good things to say about Chet Holmgren's debut, but Nick Wright explains why he still has concerns about the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Here's how the sports world reacted to Holmgren's debut.

Holmgren holds block party in Summer League debut

Chet Holmgren has already set an NBA Summer League record for blocks in his Oklahoma City Thunder debut last night. Skip Bayless reacts to Holmbren's record-setting debut.