OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Minneapolis native Chet Holmgren could block his hometown team from winning an NBA championship.
Holmgren, a 7-foot-1 forward, has helped the Oklahoma City Thunder take a 2-0 lead over the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference finals. He scored 22 points in Game 2, a 118-103 Thunder win.
Now, he will play Game 3 on Saturday in the same building where he won his fourth state title for Minnehaha Academy in his final high school game.
“Anytime I go home and play, it’s great to be able to play in front of friends, family, old coaches, old teammates,” Holmgren said. “I never take it for granted, and it’s definitely come full circle.”
The Timberwolves weren’t as good as they are now during Holmgren’s childhood — they missed the playoffs every year from 2005 to 2017.
“Growing up, Minnesota was never in the playoffs, so that atmosphere was never really there in the city,” he said. “So I’m sure it’s insane right now.”
Holmgren was a local celebrity as one of the nation’s top high school prospects. His high school coach, Lance Johnson, said it got crazy at times.
“We would go on road trips and high school and gyms would be packed,” he said. “There were games where we had him sneak him out of back doors. We pulled up in buses and there were people waiting to shake his hand.”
Johnson, of course, shares that love for Holmgren. He said he will be conflicted heading into the weekend.
“I love Chet, I cheer for Chet, I love the Timberwolves, I cheer for the Timberwolves,” Johnson said. ”It’s a nice, soft cushion to fall on if the Timberwolves possibly lose that Chet wins and OKC advances so I can continue to watch him.”
Holmgren might have rubbed a few Timberwolves fans the wrong way when he dunked, then stared down Minnesota’s Donte DiVincenzo in Game 2 and got called for a technical for taunting. Still, Johnson said he expects that the reception for Holmgren will be warm.
“I’d be surprised if he wasn’t cheered for,” Johnson said. “He’s done nothing but make Minnesota people proud. He plays the game with a great attitude.”
Johnson said Holmgren, though slightly built, has always been tough. Holmgren played through a groin injury his junior year in high school, then got checked out and he had to miss a month.
After a successful year at Gonzaga, Holmgren was the No. 2 pick in the 2022 draft, but he missed his entire first year after breaking his foot in the offseason. He recovered to be runner-up in the rookie of the year balloting the next season.
Holmgren was off to a hot start this season when he broke a pelvic bone and missed 50 games. Johnson fully expected Holmgren to recover and play well, and he did. He’s averaging 16.2 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in the playoffs.
“He’s been so resilient throughout all his life that I knew he was going to come back,” Johnson said. “And he’s now playing better than he ever has.”
Holmgren said it’s taken some work to fit back into a team that was winning without him, but his teammates made it easier.
“You don’t always control circumstances, but you can kind of control how you attack them,” he said. “So that’s what I try to do.”
Holmgren is resilient on the court, too. When he missed two free throws late in a 121-119 loss to Denver In Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals, he responded by going 7-for-7 at the line in a Game 2 victory. His two free throws at the end of the first half gave the Thunder the highest-scoring first half in NBA playoff history.
“One of Chet’s best qualities is that he’s insatiable in terms of wanting to play well and wanting to compete well,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “And I think you learn over time that it’s not a perfect game, and you have to be able to play through the imperfections of the game or the series, or whatever it is. And he’s learned that. He’s definitely more seasoned in that way.”
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