While helping prepare Team USA in Las Vegas for the 2023 FIBA World Cup last summer, Chet Holmgren approached Mark Few with a goal that is seldom attainable for NBA players these days — he wanted to play all 82 games his rookie season.standout and No. 2 overall pick had missed the 2022-23 campaign with a foot injury suffered during a pro-am tournament in Seattle. Such injuries have spelled doom for 7-footers in the past.
Holmgren didn’t take home NBA Rookie of the Year, but he still achieved his goal of playing all 82 games. Holmgren never missed a practice let alone a game during his one year at Gonzaga, where he was a consensus All-American, the West Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year and WCC Freshman of the Year in the 2021-22 season. He tied Brandon Clarke for the most blocked shots in a single season with 117, which is an even crazier number considering Holmgren actually missed fewer field goal attempts than he did block shots.