What happened to Chet Holmgren? Looking at Thunder star exiting to locker room after hard fall vs Warriors

Chet Holmgren exited Sunday's game against the Golden State Warriors in the first quarter. Holmgren fell hard to the floor after contesting an Andrew Wiggins layup. He fell on his hip and had to be helped off the court. Holmgren and the Thunder were up 16-10 when he exited the game with 6:50 left.

He struggled to put any weight on his right leg after the injury blow. The former lottery pick was scoreless before he left after going 0-for-3 from the floor. Holmgren had four rebounds and he was +/- +4.

Chet Holmgren injury update

After OKC Thunder coach Mike Daigneault didn't provide an injury update for center Chet Holmgren, the team released the latest on their big man late on Sunday. Holmgren has suffered a right iliac hip fracture. While he will return this season, he will miss a significant time. According to the Thunder. Holmgren's return-to-play protocol will be provided in 8 to 10 weeks.

Backup Isaiah Hartentstein is also on the sidelines, dealing with a left-hand fracture, and will get reevaluated in a couple of weeks. It's a tough blow for the Thunder, who suffered the impact of Holmgren's loss instantly against the Warriors. They didn't have the size to deal with the Dubs' bigs.

OKC gave up a seven-rebound advantage and 44 points in the paint. The Warriors won 127-116 after leading by 30 points. It was one of the Thunder's worst defensive performance without their Defensive Player of the Year candidate.

Chet Holmgren has averaged 18.2 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.9 blocks in nine games. He led them to a league-best 97.3 defensive rating before Sunday's contest. He leaves a sizeable void for the Thunder to fill in scoring, rebounding and rim protection without Isaiah Hartenstein and Jaylin Williams.

Ousmane Dieng will likely be the player Daigneault turns to fill most of that void, especially in the rebounding department and rim protection. At 6-foot-9, Dieng is the tallest active player on the Thunder after Holmgren's injury until Hartenstein returns.

The 21-year-old has been involved sporadically, playing only 12.6 minutes per game, averaging 3.1 rebounds. Lu Dort and Jalen Williams are the other two players who might have to be extra sharp on the boards to compensate.