Chet Holmgren is out 8 to 10 weeks, the third Thunder starter lost in a week

In less than a week Oklahoma City has lost Jalen Williams to a fractured fibula, Cason Wallace to a torn labrum and now Chet Holmgren to his right knee. The Thunder announced on Friday that Holmgren had undergone a biological treatment for a small tear in his patellar tendon and is expected to make a full recovery and return in 8 to 10 weeks, according to ESPN, NBA.com and Yahoo Sports. The team said he first felt mild discomfort in the knee on October 25, and Yahoo reported that he had missed the two games since with patellar tendinitis. A league source told Yahoo the treatment was likely platelet-rich plasma, which avoids a more invasive surgery.

For a fantasy manager, 8 to 10 weeks is a long absence but not a lost season, and Holmgren is the kind of player whose value when healthy is worth waiting for, especially in categories. The questions are what the absence costs him on our boards, whether he is worth an injured reserve slot, and who plays center in Oklahoma City while he is out.

What the absence costs

Our projections read the Thunder's timeline on Saturday morning and now count Holmgren out until about January 2, roughly 29 games, which takes his season from 64.9 projected games to 42.8. His per-game line is untouched at 16.6 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.2 blocks, so the whole cost is the games. On our 9-cat board, where his blocks and percentages made him a top-20 player, he falls from 20th to 61st, and on our points board under ESPN's standard scoring from 41st to 90th.

That fall is the arithmetic of a roster spot with nobody in it for two months, and it is the right number for a league without injured reserve. In a league with an IR slot, the calculation is different: once he is listed out you can stash him without giving up anyone, and a top-20 9-cat player for the second half of the season is worth far more than whoever you would have picked up with that spot.

Who plays center

Isaiah Hartenstein is the obvious answer, and our projection already has him at 26.1 minutes with 10.1 points and 10.3 rebounds, 95th on points and 84th in 9-cat. Our projections hand most of Holmgren's freed minutes to deeper players, Kenrich Williams, Micah Peavy and Brooks Barnhizer, none of whom is worth a roster spot in a standard league. Rookie Aday Mara, at 17.1 projected minutes, is the one with upside: he blocks a shot a game in limited minutes, and if Oklahoma City gives him a larger share while Holmgren is out, his projection will move quickly. Sports Illustrated's Thunder site also named Ochai Agbaji, newly signed, as a player likely to see immediate time.

What to do

Move Holmgren to injured reserve if your league has it and keep him. Without IR, keep him in 9-cat if your bench can carry him, and in points leagues consider him tradeable to a manager with an open IR slot. Pick up Hartenstein if he is available in your league, and watch Mara's minutes over the next week before committing a spot to him.

Every player in this story is on the fantasy basketball rankings and the 2026-27 projections, and the NBA depth charts show where each one stands in his team’s rotation tonight.