Chet Holmgren had a different vision of facing LeBron James in the NBA Playoffs.
After Holmgren and the Oklahoma City Thunder took care of business in Game 1 of their series against the Lakers on Tuesday at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Okla., the former Gonzaga Bulldogs star candidly answered a question about taking on James in the postseason.
In a postgame interview with NBC, Holmgren admitted that he did not expect James to still be playing in the league when the opportunity came to face the four-time NBA Most Valuable Player in the playoffs.
“Maybe with him coaching or something,” the Thunder center said. “It’s fun to go at it with great players and he’s one of them.”
Chet was asked if he ever imagined being in a playoff series against LeBron:
— BronMuse (@BronMuse) May 6, 2026
"Maybe with him coaching or something… It's fun to go at it with great players and he's one of them." 😂🤝 pic.twitter.com/khefcKSjmi
With the way James is playing at age 41, a head-coaching job in the Association could still be far down the road.
Although the Lakers lost Game 1 to the Thunder, 108-90, James arguably had the best individual performance of any player on either side. The future Basketball Hall of Famer scored a game-high 27 points on 12/17 shooting with 6 assists and 4 rebounds in 36 minutes.
Holmgren and the Thunder will see more of James, as they need three more wins to eliminate the Lakers and advance to the Western Conference Finals.
