A kid pedaled down Oxford Street North in St. Paul, weaving past parked cars. As he neared Iglehart Avenue, music thumped from a DJ booth and a crowd swelled outside Jimmy Lee Recreation Center. He slowed, turned to someone nearby and shouted:
“What’s going on?”
Chet Holmgren was home — and he had brought the Larry O’Brien Trophy with him. The Holmgren hometown tour continued in St. Paul on Thursday, days after Holmgren, who won the NBA championship with the Oklahoma City Thunder in June, hosted a youth camp at Minnehaha Academy, the high school where he won four state championships.
“This is for the kids,” Holmgren said. “This isn’t about me. I didn’t try to post this or make it a big thing. … I just wanted to make it about them.”
Outside, families lined up for trophy photos, grabbed free pizza and ice cream in the parking lot and waited for a glimpse of the NBA star. When Holmgren emerged, he was instantly swarmed — security and community members stepped in to clear space as he signed autographs and took selfies. Holmgren later played one-on-one with several young opponents.
Even adults seemed starstruck. One man, filming on his phone, turned to another, wide-eyed: “He’s actually a 7-footer.”
“It made me feel like I could dunk,” 12-year-old Mason Holliday said. “Like I could fly.”
