Life and basketball come at you fast. Sometimes it’s fast enough to outrun you, and the next thing you know, you’re a year behind on the clock. That’s exactly what happened to Chet Holmgren when he picked up a Lisfranc fracture in the summer of 2022. “You get hurt and you feel like you let everybody down,” Holmgren reflected, sitting in the loneliness of the team doctor’s office.

But since then, Chet has shrugged off the chip on his shoulder and his injury too, with a smashing season with the Thunder. For the 22-year-old, staying fit and sharp is the motto of life, much like an NBA legend at the other end of his career. LeBron James is that legend in question, who has dedicated his life to the craft and is still showing no signs of slowing down at 39. One might think that Chet could take some notes from LeBron’s fitness playbook, but that possibility has been dismissed by Holmgren.

In the latest episode of the Road Trippin podcast where Chet joined Allie Clifton, Channing Frye, and Richard Jefferson. He explained, “You have to figure out how to maximize what God gave you, and that’s different for everybody. LeBron’s plan would not work for me. My plan would not work for LeBron,” Holmgren’s point came up when Jefferson questioned whether LeBron is the fitness role model Chet should look up to. Jefferson then elaborated on how biomechanics affect fitness as a whole. “When your core is not strong, your back goes out. When your back goes out, your knees go out. It’s all that shit connected,” Jefferson explained.

“That’s what happened with, like, my surgery. Like, when I was hurt, the biggest issue coming back wasn’t even my foot. My foot felt fine. Like, it didn’t hurt at all. What would happen is my legs not tear, deteriorated,” Holmgren added, to which Jefferson identified the phenomenon called Atrophy. Atrophy is the natural process of cell decay the human body suffers after an injury and lack of training. “I get out there now, I’m getting shin splints. And then and then, you know, I’m getting back out there. My body’s not used to it anymore. My back’s tight now. And then because of that, my hamstrings are tight… And that’s the hardest part about rehab is, like, catching up to everything and trying to get your body caught back up because, like, I was on a f*cking scooter for 3 months,” Chet concluded.

Apart from his impressive run with the OKC, Chet has somewhat developed a passive rivalry (passive cause only fans conjured it) with fellow rookie Victor Wembanyama. The two went neck-to-neck for most of the season before the Frenchman eventually took home the ROTY award. Now with a mic at his disposal thanks to the podcast hosts, Chet opened up about it as well.

Chet Holmgren talks about Victor Wembanyama’s ROTY win

When Wemby took home the ROTY award, many raised voices over Chet’s claim to it. OKC’s top-seed finish could’ve easily landed Chet the award, but that wasn’t the ultimate verdict. But what does Holmgren think about it? He made his feelings public on the same podcast. “I don’t think Wemby was unfair in winning Rookie of the Year or anything. Like I mean, all credit to him for a great season and everything. And you know, we’re not rookies anymore.” 

Chet Holmgren also highlighted how both of them were in “polar opposite” situations and alluded to how criteria can vary for the debaters. With Wemby preparing for the Olympic games, Chet will have a longer span of break in the offseason. So once the action picks up for the next season, it will be interesting to see how the two match up yet again and who runs the course injury-free as fitness is not something anyone can compromise with.