The Holmgren family has been tied to Minnesota basketball for four decades.
Chet’s dad, Dave, matriculated to the University of Minnesota. And really, the rest is history. On Saturday, Oklahoma City’s star Chet Holmgren is back in his home state to play the Western Conference Finals against the Timberwolves.
The basketball story that led Chet to this moment, on the verge of the NBA Finals, runs through Minnesota.
Dave grew up in the state, not far from downtown Minneapolis, according to The Athletic.
A 7-footer himself, Dave dealt with injuries that limited his impact with the Golden Gophers.
The family never really left.
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Chet attended Minehaha Academy, where he teamed up with Jalen Suggs. The lanky Holmgren won four state championships.
As a senior in 2020-21, Holmgren won every honor imaginable. He was Naismith Prep Player of the Year, Gatorade National Player of the Year, MaxPreps National Player of the Year, anything you can think of.
Then he dominated Gonzaga, made it to the NBA as the No. 2 overall pick of his draft and has battled back through injuries to be a force all over the court for the Thunder.
Chet has played in Minnesota before, but not on a stage like this one.
Here, with all the NBA watching, Chet can show what a Minnesota basketball player can become. He’s a generationally unique talent, a second-generation college hooper in his family, a special force with still so much untapped potential.
And in the Western Conference Finals, he gets this chance to go back home and show all that he’s grown into.
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