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OKC Thunder rookies learning NBA All-Star weekend is serious, silly
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- OKC Thunder rookies learning NBA All-Star weekend is serious, silly
INDIANAPOLIS — Chet Holmgren was in his moment. Or at least he thought.
The podium awaited. He made his way up the railing and onto the platform to field questions from rows of reporters. He got comfortable, settling into his mesh black jersey with " Rising Stars " glued against his chest.
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Holmgren has played every game this season for a Thunder team firmly in the race for the West's No. 1 seed . An organization just seasons removed from a brief rebuild with depths so grim that its intentions were often questioned. A team that's done a breathtaking 180 behind its youthful talent, reviving feelings that were last felt by the team's first dynasty.
Holmgren's been in the middle of it all.
This session was a break to reflect. Then he fell back to Earth to sit back in his chair, processing the second question of his availability ahead of Friday night's Rising Stars event .
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Feb 16, 2024; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Team Jalen guard Bennedict Mathurin (0) of the Indiana Pacers high fives forward Chet Holmgren (7) of the Oklahoma City Thunder during a Rising Stars semifinal game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
What All-Star would he pick to join him in a WWE-style tag-team match?
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"I wasn't ready for these questions," said Holmgren, smiling.
In between anchoring a taxing defense and playing for a coach and organization that insist on resetting with each game, he rarely gets these moments. Perhaps he thought he'd be bombarded by questions that drew his deepest thoughts.
But this is the nature of All-Star weekend. Three days of TikToks, barbershop talk, cameras swarming Holmgren and others' every move, clamoring to ask them their all-time NBA starting five. Things Holmgren, often equipped with a blank expression, can't even get mad at.
Perhaps he'd scoff midseason. In between the points Mark Daigneault's Thunder is 1-0 and back to 0-0, or after a couple overtimes against the Boston Celtics . But after a trying first half of the season, maybe this is just what the young Thunder need.
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Feb 16, 2024; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Team Jalen forward Jalen Williams (8) of the Oklahoma City Thunder passes the ball during the Rising Stars final at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Cason Wallace was asked when — if ever — he'd play catch up with fashion week regulars like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams and their vast wardrobes. Williams was asked about his NBA Mount Rushmore and who the worst driver on the Thunder is.
Williams, typically joyful but still serious and animated in competition, isn't exactly steering away from other stars or the harmless interactions that might look less amicable during the season.
"People are kind of paying to see us interact and be around people, so (we) should just have a good attitude about it," Williams said. "Be a good dude. There's a lot of good guys in the NBA as well, so it's pretty easy to mingle around."
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The Thunder's budding stars were still asked about the overarching themes of their season. On whether they're stunned to have gone from missing the play-in to second in the West, or what their chemistry is like on such a young team. Things they've been asked enough times to formulate near-perfect responses with wit or class or robotics.
Holmgren's designated seat would only be occupied by two other players: Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero and San Antonio Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama . And for once, the first thing he was asked didn't have to do with either.
More: How OKC Thunder rookie Cason Wallace was built by Hamilton Park, Texas. 'That's who I am'
NBA All-Star Game
TIPOFF:7 p.m. Sunday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis (TNT)
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC Thunder rookies learning NBA All-Star weekend is serious, silly
