Chet Holmgren to face hometown team when Thunder visit Timberwolves in Game 3 of West finals

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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Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren (7) shoots against Minnesota Timberwolves center Naz Reid (11) during the first half of Game 1 of an NBA basketball Western Conference Finals playoff series Tuesday, May 20, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren (7) shoots in front of Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert (27) and forward Jaden McDaniels (3) during the first half of Game 1 of an NBA basketball Western Conference Finals playoff series Tuesday, May 20, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren reacts after a play against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the second half of Game 2 of an NBA basketball Western Conference Finals playoff series Thursday, May 22, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert, top, goes up for a basket against Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren (7) and center Isaiah Hartenstein (55) during the first half of Game 2 of an NBA basketball Western Conference Finals playoff series Thursday, May 22, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren (7) dunks on Minnesota Timberwolves guard Donte DiVincenzo (0) during the second half of Game 2 of an NBA basketball Western Conference Finals playoff series Thursday, May 22, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The father of NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin died and his mother was critically injured after a weekend fire heavily damaged the North Carolina home where they lived, officials said Monday.

Firefighters arrived Sunday night at a two-story home near Stanley that was mostly engulfed in fire, with flames showing through the attic, the Gaston County Office of Emergency Management and Fire Services said in a news release.

Dennis Hamlin, 75, and Mary Lou Hamlin, 69, were found outside the home, suffering from catastrophic injuries, officials said. Dennis Hamlin later died from his injuries at a hospital, officials said.

Mary Lou Hamlin was taken to Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Burn Center in Winston-Salem, where she was being treated Monday, officials said.

The fire caused the structure to collapse. The cause is under investigation.

Stanley is located about 20 miles (32 kilometers) northwest of Charlotte.

The home is owned by a company called Won One Real Estate that lists Denny Hamlin as its manager, according to local property tax records and a business document filing with the North Carolina Secretary of State’s Office.

Representatives for Hamlin had not responded to requests for comment as of Monday evening.

Hamlin is one of the marquee drivers in NASCAR's top circuit, having won 60 NASCAR Cup Series races, including the Daytona 500 three times.

The 45-year-old driver for Joe Gibbs Racing has yet to win a Cup points championship. He fell short of the title during this season's final race in Arizona last month.

Weeks earlier, Hamlin said his father — who nearly went broke with financial sacrifices to try to get his son into NASCAR — was battling a serious illness, and that he didn't have much time left to live.

“I know for a fact this is my last chance for my dad to see it. I don’t want him going and never getting to see the moment,” Hamlin told The Associated Press.

Hamlin also mentioned his dad in emotional testimony this month at the start of a federal antitrust trial against NASCAR brought in part by 23XI Racing, which is owned by Hamlin and Basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan. NASCAR, 23XI Racing and another race team reached a settlement during the trial before jurors ever deliberated.

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Sainz reported from Memphis, Tennessee.

FILE - Denny Hamlin looks on prior to a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025, in Concord, N.C. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley, File)