Chet Holmgren’s Contract Allowed Star to Play in Crawsover Pro-Am Before Foot Injury

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Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren’s contract allowed him to play in the Crawsover Pro-Am event where he suffered his season-ending Lisfranc injury.

Bobby Marks of ESPN reported Holmgren’s contract includes an Exhibit 5 clause that allows for outside activities, and the Jamal Crawford-led Pro-Am was on the list of events approved by the NBA.

Had Holmgren been injured in a non-sanctioned event, the Thunder could have attempted to make the No. 2 overall pick forfeit some of his future earnings.

The Gonzaga product was injured after a brief appearance at the Seattle-based event, with the Thunder announcing Thursday he will miss the entire 2022-23 campaign.

While there has been some handwringing from fans about Holmgren playing in the pro-am, it’s entirely unwarranted.

NBA teams do not have regularly scheduled offseason workouts like the NFL. Barring a player being placed into bubble wrap and then unwrapped at the beginning of training camp, these injuries are going to occasionally happen. Players need to stay in basketball shape and hone their skills during the offseason; the only way for them to do that is to hit the floor and work on their game.

Holmgren is just as likely to have suffered this injury playing at a home gym or in one of the countless open runs that happen between NBA players every offseason. Klay Thompson blew out his Achilles during a workout; DeMarcus Cousins tore his ACL during an offseason run. These things happen.

It’s merely an unfortunate turn of events for a player who had a strong chance of winning Rookie of the Year in 2022-23.