Why Recent History Favors Chet

Jul 16, 2023•4 min read

Much has been made about Chet Holmgren missing his rookie season due to a broken foot suffered in a summer pro-am run. People pro-claiming his career was over due to the injury and height, which they could be right still. However recent history shows us that Chet is in good company and it might not be all doom n gloom.

Blake Griffin: During a summer league exhibition Griffin landed on his knee and fractured his knee cap. He ultimately missed the entire 2009-10 season. Griffin went onto win rookie of the year averaging an absurd 22.5 points and 12 rebounds. Griffin had an unreal run from 2011 to 2019 making 6 all-star games and 5 all-nba teams.

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2010–11	L.A. Clippers	82	82*	38.0	.506	.292	.642	12.1	3.8	.8	.5	22.5
2011–12	L.A. Clippers	66*	66*	36.3	.549	.125	.521	10.9	3.2	.8	.7	20.7
2012–13	L.A. Clippers	80	80	32.5	.538	.179	.660	8.3	3.7	1.2	.6	18.0
2013–14	L.A. Clippers	80	80	36.1	.528	.273	.715	9.5	3.9	1.2	.6	24.1
2014–15	L.A. Clippers	67	67	35.2	.502	.400	.728	7.6	5.3	.9	.5	21.9
2015–16	L.A. Clippers	35	35	33.4	.499	.333	.727	8.4	4.9	.8	.5	21.4
2016–17	L.A. Clippers	61	61	34.0	.493	.336	.760	8.1	4.9	1.0	.4	21.6
2017–18	L.A. Clippers	33	33	34.5	.441	.342	.785	7.9	5.4	.9	.3	22.6
2017–18	Detroit	25	25	33.2	.433	.348	.784	6.6	6.2	.4	.4	19.8
2018–19	Detroit	75	75	35.0	.463	.362	.753	7.5	5.4	.7	.4	24.5

Joel Embiid: The third pick in the 2014 NBA draft missed his first two seasons after suffering from foot injuries dating back to college. Embiid did not win rookie of the year due to missing games with load management. He still averaged 20 points and 8 rebounds per game. Embiid is coming off an MVP season with 6 all-stars and 5 all-nba appearances.

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2016–17	Philadelphia	31	31	25.4	.466	.367	.783	7.8	2.1	.9	2.5	20.2
2017–18	Philadelphia	63	63	30.3	.483	.308	.769	11.0	3.2	.6	1.8	22.9
2018–19	Philadelphia	64	64	33.7	.484	.300	.804	13.6	3.7	.7	1.9	27.5
2019–20	Philadelphia	51	51	29.5	.477	.331	.807	11.6	3.0	.9	1.3	23.0
2020–21	Philadelphia	51	51	31.1	.513	.377	.859	10.6	2.8	1.0	1.4	28.5
2021–22	Philadelphia	68	68	33.8	.499	.371	.814	11.7	4.2	1.1	1.5	30.6*
2022–23	Philadelphia	66	66	34.6	.548	.330	.857	10.2	4.2	1.0	1.7	33.1*
Career		394	394	31.8	.501	.337	.819	11.2	3.4	.9	1.7	27.2

Julius Randle: The first lottery pick in the Lakers rebuild for the post Gasol era, he had big expectations and shoes to fill. Unfortunately 14 minutes into opening night, Randle broke his tibia. While Randle might not have panned out for the Lakers, he has had a hell of a career in New York. Since joining the Knicks in 2019, he has made 2 all star teams and 2 all-nba teams. His numbers have been very impressive as well, 23/10/5 over the last 3 seasons.


Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2022–23	New York	77	77	35.5	.459	.343	.757	10.0	4.1	.6	.3	25.1
2021–22	New York	72	72	35.3	.411	.308	.756	9.9	5.1	.7	.5	20.1
2020–21	New York	71	71	37.6*	.456	.411	.811	10.2	6.0	.9	.3	24.1
2019–20	New York	64	64	32.5	.460	.277	.733	9.7	3.1	.8	.3	19.5

Ben Simmons: Ignore the last 2 1/2 years please...

Ben Simmons fractured his right foot in summer exhibition and missed the entire 2016-17 season. Bens rookie season showed the transcedent talent he could become, even without a shot. The 6'10" point gaurd turned the 76ers into a 50 win team as a rookie, improving from the 28 year prior. He would go onto win rookie of the year over Donovan Mitchell. Ben was a lockdown defender, extremely athletic, with elite playmaking. In his first four seasons, he made 3 all-star teams, all-nba, and 2 all defensive first teams.


Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2017–18	Philadelphia	81	81	33.7	.545	.000	.560	8.1	8.2	1.7	.9	15.8
2018–19	Philadelphia	79	79	34.2	.563	.000	.600	8.8	7.7	1.4	.8	16.9
2019–20	Philadelphia	57	57	35.4	.580	.286	.621	7.8	8.0	2.1*	.6	16.4
2020–21	Philadelphia	58	58	32.4	.557	.300	.613	7.2	6.9	1.6	.6	14.3

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