OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) 鈥� Thunder rookie Chet Holmgren is experiencing the rehab process for the first time.
The suffered a right foot injury during a pro-am game in August while defending as LeBron James drove to the basket on a fast break. He had surgery, and the Thunder .
鈥淚鈥檝e never had a serious injury in my life, so I didn鈥檛 really know, I had nothing to base it off of and compare to,鈥� Holmgren said Thursday. 鈥淪o when it happened, I had to get it looked at and see how serious it was. I didn鈥檛 imagine anything like this.鈥�
Holmgren, a versatile 7-footer who had great moments during summer league, is dealing with being sidelined as the Thunder start training camp this week.
鈥淒efinitely something that I really had to put my mind to and spend some time to think on," he said. "And kind of come to some conclusions on things and really settle my mind so I could kind of stop focusing on what happened and focus in on what鈥檚 going to happen, what I've got to do to get where I need to be.鈥�
Even without practicing, he has already left an impression on his teammates.
鈥淗e鈥檚 a great guy,鈥� guard Lu Dort said. 鈥淚 can already feel a connection with me and the rest of the team. He鈥檚 a pretty vocal guy, too. He talks a lot, and that鈥檚 good for the team.鈥�
Holmgren said his only workout limitation is that he can鈥檛 put weight on the injured foot. So, that forces him to focus on other aspects of the game. Coach Mark Daigneault said Holmgren has been working hard on film study.
鈥淚t just comes down to putting my mental energy towards it, learning how to really be a professional in areas off the court,鈥� Holmgren said. 鈥淚鈥檝e dedicated so much time to really hustling at my craft on the court. Now, this event is making me step back and kind of rework how how I do things. And one of those ways is to become professional with watching film and speaking with coaches, trying to learn, watching what鈥檚 happening and really being engaged, in trying to get better with different avenues.鈥�
Holmgren has spoken with Joel Embiid about his injury. Embiid, the reigning NBA scoring champion, was the No. 3 pick in 2014 before missing his first two seasons with foot issues.
Holmgren hopes he can recover as well as Embiid.
鈥淲hat I鈥檓 trying to do right now is just kind of soak up all the knowledge of how things are done around here, how they鈥檙e going to be done going forward," Holmgren said. "So when I鈥檓 ready to get get back in there, I can just kind of seamlessly plug myself in.鈥�
Holmgren is expected to be ready for the start of next season. He said he鈥檚 trying to keep his thoughts positive.
鈥淚t all comes down to keeping a level head because there鈥檚 so many ups and downs,鈥� he said. 鈥淯nfortunately, this is a down. But I鈥檝e got to keep my head level and focus on getting better. And no matter what the circumstances are, that鈥檚 the goal.鈥�
Daigneault believes Holmgren's mindset will net positive results.
鈥淲e鈥檇 like him to be out here,鈥� Daigneault said. 鈥淏ut since he鈥檚 not, we鈥檙e certainly going to make a lot of investments, and the thing that makes me the most optimistic about that is the approach that he takes.鈥�
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Cliff Brunt, The Associated Press
