Seven weeks after his 23rd birthday, Chet Holmgren won his first NBA title. Ten days after celebrating it, Holmgren estimated, he forced himself back into the gym.

"Nothing&039;s worse for your body than not training," Holmgren told ESPN. "I learned that being on bed rest for six weeks watching my muscle just f---ing wash away."

Almost everything about the Oklahoma City Thunder's dream ride to a 2025 NBA championship is remembered with radiance. But there's some gloom within Holmgren's retelling. It included the proudest and the darkest chapter of his basketball life.

Last November, in the Thunder's 10th regular-season game, Holmgren rotated to contest a baseline drive by Golden State Warriors wing Andrew Wiggins. Wiggins squared up a leaping Holmgren at the wrong angle, using an extended elbow to send the aggressive but skinny shot blocker careening toward the court on a parallel descent.

Hip met hardwood. Holmgren fractured his pelvis and writhed in agony. His two biggest teammates, Isaiah Hartenstein and Jaylin Williams, followed the training staff to his aid, carrying the franchise center to the locker room and staying with him as he came to grips with the diagnosis.

He went to the hospital that night. Hartenstein visited him.

"In my career, that's the first time I really saw someone in that much pain," Hartenstein said.

Holmgren, who returned for the Thunder's title run after sitting out 39 games, has already checked a pair of boxes that most premium lottery picks spend their entire career chasing.

Three summers after he was drafted No. 2 in 2022, he has been a major contributor on an NBA champion and, in July, signed a five-year $240.7 million contract extension.

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