Chet Holmgren announces that he’s rejoining the Thunder lineup after 3-month absence

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Chet Holmgren is ready to return to the Oklahoma City lineup.

Holmgren is not listed on Oklahoma City’s injury report for the team’s game Friday against Toronto, indicating that he has finally healed from a fractured hip that had sidelined him since November.

And if that wasn’t clear enough, Holmgren took to social media to announce the news himself. “I’m back,” was the signature Holmgren used on a TikTok video he posted Thursday.

It’s yet another piece of good news for the Thunder, who are atop the NBA with a 40-9 record and entered Thursday with a six-game lead over Memphis in the Western Conference standings. They were 8-2 in the season’s first 10 games with Holmgren — and have gone 32-7 in the 39 games without the 7-foot-1 center.

Holmgren — the No. 2 pick behind Orlando’s Paolo Banchero in the 2022 draft — missed the entirety of what would have been his first season in 2022-23 with a foot injury. He played all 82 games last season and was second in the rookie of the year vote behind San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama.

Holmgren averaged 16.4 points and 8.7 rebounds this season before getting hurt.

___

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba