The Oklahoma City Thunder suffered their first loss of the young NBA season on Sunday afternoon, as the defending champs came to town and thumped them in a 128-95 Nuggets win.
Nikola Jokic led the way as he so often does with 28 points, 14 rebounds, and five assists in his 30 minutes of action, while Chet Holmgren served as one of the few bright spots for the Thunder in the opposite frontcourt, scoring 19 points to lead OKC in scoring to continue his strong start to his first season on the floor. After the game, Jokic was asked about his young counterpart and offered him some praise as well as some advice that only Jokic would deliver, via Bennett Durando of the Denver Post.
“He’s a really talented guy, but this is his first year. He’s still learning everything: the game, how quick it is, where is (he at) an advantage, where is (he at) a disadvantage,” Jokic said. “I think he needs experience. I think he needs to be a little bit fatter, to be honest. But yes, he has a talent that is unique.”
Holmgren, who missed all of his rookie season with a foot injury, came into this season with a little bit more weight after a year in an NBA weight program, but the 7’1 big man is still quite thin. Jokic’s best advice is to maybe hit the buffet line as much as he’s hitting the free throw line, while also joking to Durando that when he was a rookie he didn’t have that problem.
I do like that Jokic isn’t talking about Chet getting in the weight room, just noting that he needs more beef in general. Jokic spent his early career going the other way with his weight, dropping pounds to go from a pudgy but talented center into being an unstoppable perennial MVP candidate. Holmgren has a tantalizing skillset of his own, but as Sunday showed, there’s still some matchups he needs to bolster his size to deal with and Jokic might have some tips on how to up that calorie count.