OKLAHOMA CITY — The night before his playoff debut, Chet Holmgren couldn't wait to get on the court.
“I'm very nervous,” the Oklahoma City Thunder star said Saturday ahead of Sunday's Game 1 against the New Orleans Pelicans. “I'm ready to play and I'm ready to go. I'm really looking forward to it. I can't say I'm nervous, but I'm definitely nervous.”
Holmgren and the Western Conference's top seed Thunder had six days off after ending the regular season last Sunday. Rest helped. Holmgren's focus remained. Although he called his vacation refreshing, he said he didn't travel far from the team's practice facility.
“I didn’t just sit around,” he said. “I was still here and doing what I loved.”
Finally, after a great regular season in which they dominated, it's time to see how they come together in the postseason. No one knows how far the Thunder will travel this postseason. They have built a top-5 offense and defense, and they certainly have the team structure to advance in the playoffs. What remains to be seen is how they will overcome the potential dangers of youth and inexperience that present themselves within the seven-game series.
With an average age of 23.4 years, the Thunder are the youngest No. 1-seeded team in NBA history, according to StatMuse. Only six Thunder players have playoff experience: Gordon Hayward, Bismack Biyombo, Mike Muscala, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lou Dort and Isaiah Joe. In 134 playoff contests, they have totaled just 2,623 minutes in the postseason.
For comparison, Pelicans starters CJ McCollum and Jonas Valanciunas alone have played 1,047 more minutes in the postseason than the Thunder roster and just 17 fewer games in the playoffs.
Still, Holmgren, 10 days shy of his 22nd birthday, sounded like the leader of a team of veteran players who have been here so far. He calmly talked about everything from his playoff memories to his playoff mentality going into Game 1.
“The playoffs are a time of great change,” Holmgren said. “And don't let things swing and allow your emotions to run wild in one direction, for better or for worse. Even if you win one game, the series isn't over. If you lose one game, the series isn't over. No. So it doesn't matter how you lose or win. It doesn't matter if it's a buzzer beater or a blowout. No team is going to turn around and give you something. I have to get ready.”
The Thunder are no longer the team of the future after earning the No. 1 seed in the West, but the core of the team and the franchise's long-term positioning has plenty of potential with endless possibilities. But Oklahoma City has arrived. Sunday will be the players' first chance to prove that, and a dominant win in the opening round of the playoffs will only raise expectations, which are already sky-high.
The Thunder are back in the postseason for the first time in three seasons, but Barr is a championship, whether it's this season or any subsequent season in the near future. Oklahoma City advanced to the NBA Finals. If you appear on the show, you will be praised and even appreciated. As is tradition here, a large crowd of fans greeted the players at the airport at midnight. However, the mission will not be accomplished.
At some point, all of Tomorrow's Thunder promises have to come true as a parade. Here's 2011 and his 2012 unfinished business. There are regrets from 2014, and of course there are ghosts from 2016. The same people who still bear the scars are pouring their hopes into this year's baby-faced group.
“There have always been expectations around us, whether they were super high or super low,” Holmgren said. “We pay attention to them and never try to let that determine success for us. We determine success for ourselves and come here to be the best version of ourselves. That's what we're going to do, whether or not others expect us to.
It's impossible to ignore the changing landscape of the league and how the young Thunder are once again at the center of change. The sight of them breaking records for three consecutive seasons and climbing to the top of the West Division reminds him of 13 years ago.
After relocating from Seattle in 2008, the Thunder won 23, 50, and 55 games in their first three seasons in Oklahoma City, producing 20-win seasons. Just like today, these Thunder teams were thought ahead of their time. They reached the Western Conference Finals in 2011, but lost to the eventual champion Dallas Mavericks. They then made it to the NBA Finals in 2012, but lost to LeBron James and the Miami Heat.
James and his Los Angeles Lakers, winners of four of the past 12 championships, could be headed for a first-round exit against the defending champion Denver Nuggets. Stephen Curry and his Golden State Warriors, who own four more of the last 12 titles, failed to make the playoffs.
The door is open for a new challenger to the NBA throne.
“Well, I mean, I don't think they've retired,” Holmgren said. “I definitely want to give them credit for all the success they've had so far and give credit to those of us who are hungry for success in the future and in the present.” I can't praise you too much, I'll just say that.
The Thunder approach the playoffs with respect for everyone and no fear of anyone.
“Age is just a number,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “There is a difference between youth and maturity.”
And there could be an advantage to being a historically young top-seeded team.
“I feel like it helps our chemistry,” Thunder guard Kason Wallace said. “Everyone can be themselves. Be goofy. Be free. And we all feed off of each other's energy.”
In front of historically the NBA's loudest home crowd, Holmgren was asked Saturday if he could imagine what Game 1 would be like.
“It’s a sea of white,” he said. “So many people were standing up and cheering. The sound of everyone's cheers was deafening. And I was so excited.”
(Chet Holmgren Photo: Rayne Murdock Jr./NBAE via Getty Images)
