Chet Holmgren stays 'in the moment' during NBA All-Star Game debut
INGLEWOOD, CA — The sound of a television could be heard from a hallway inside Intuit Dome on Sunday night.
It came from a small visitors' locker room, where the USA Stars team was watching a broadcast of the NBA All-Star Game's round-robin tournament. The USA Stripes and World teams were facing off, and the outcome would decide if the Stars advanced to the championship round.
Tyrese Maxey drank some "Cool Blue" Gatorade on one side of the room. Jalen Johnson ate some chicken tenders from concessions on the other. And in the center was Chet Holmgren, who only wanted to feast his eyes on the TV and see if his first career All-Star appearance would continue.
"I think that's the one thing that's tough about having a three-team, team-off-and-team-on thing," Holmgren said of the event's new tournament format. "We went back in the locker room for like 20 or 30 minutes while the other two teams were playing. We were kind of just chilling, sitting there and watching it."
Fortunately, Holmgren's night wasn't over. The World team lost, sending the Stars to the championship round thanks to a head-to-head tiebreaker. They then secured the title by earning a dominant 47-21 win over the Stripes.
The Thunder big man came off the bench during all three of his team's 12-minute games. It's a feeling that's unfamiliar to the 23-year-old pro, who has always been one of the brightest stars on every court he's touched.
But Holmgren stayed true to his usual brand of basketball, impacting the game on both ends while playing within the team. He racked up eight points, two rebounds and a game-high two blocks on 3-for-4 shooting from the field during the title game. And he did so in only six minutes.
"I think it was great," Holmgren said. "Before, I didn't really know how it was supposed to go because I'd never gone through it. I was just kind of trying to feel out the game and play accordingly, and I think it went well. It was fun. ... I played a good brand of basketball."
Sunday's tournament isn't the biggest stage Holmgren has stepped onto. He helped OKC win its first NBA championship in franchise history last season, after all.
Still, Holmgren couldn't help but to appreciate his surroundings as he got some 3s up during shootaround.
Stars such as Minnesota's Anthony Edwards and Detroit's Cade Cunningham are usually on the other end of the court. The side that's enemy territory. But they were right next to him this time, letting it fly and doing some pregame stretches.
"I just tried to take a moment to reflect on how cool of an opportunity this is," Holmgren said. "I felt like I was pretty in the moment for the most part, just taking everything in."
Holmgren took in plenty of other cool moments throughout the weekend.
He attended a Foot Locker event on Friday, where he held a sit-down interview and a meet-and-greet with fans. He participated in the Shooting Stars competition on Saturday, where he teamed up with Toronto's Scottie Barnes and former NBA player Richard Hamilton. And he even received a ring before Sunday's tournament to commemorate his All-Star selection.
Holmgren says he didn't even know that last part was going to happen. But he'll happily add it to his growing collection of hardware.
"It's pretty sick, but I think I like our ring from last summer a little bit more," Holmgren said with a smirk.
Justin Martinez covers the Thunder and NBA for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Justin? He can be reached at [email protected] or on X/Twitter at @Justintohoops. Sign up for the Thunder Sports Minute newsletter to access more NBA coverage. Support Justin's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Chet Holmgren stays 'in the moment' in his NBA All-Star Game debut
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