INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The sound of televisions could be heard in the hallways inside the Intuit Dome Sunday night.
The sound came from a small visitors’ locker room where the All-Stars were watching a broadcast of the NBA All-Star Game round-robin game. The American Stripes and the World Team face off, and the winner will determine whether the Stars advance to the championship game.
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Tyrese Maxey drank some Cool Blue Gatorade to the side of the room. Jaylen Johnson was on the other side eating some chicken tenders from a stand. In the middle was Chet Holmgren, who just wanted to feast his eyes on the TV and see if his first career All-Star appearance was still a possibility.
“I think that’s one of the hardest things about a three-team, intra-squad game,” Holmgren said of the tournament’s new format. “While the other two teams were playing, we went back to the locker room for about 20 or 30 minutes. We sat there and watched the game and kind of relaxed.”
NBA All-Star Game Highlights: Chet Holmgren, Team USA Winner
Fortunately, Holmgren’s night wasn’t over yet. Team World lost the game and the Stars advanced to the championship game in a tiebreaker. They then defeated the Stripes 47-21 to seal the championship.
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The Thunder big man came off the bench in all three of the team’s 12-minute games. It’s an unfamiliar feeling for the 23-year-old pro, who has been one of the brightest stars on every court he’s touched.
But Holmgren remains true to his usual style of basketball, impacting the game on both ends of the floor while playing on the team. In the championship game, he scored 8 points, 2 rebounds and a game-high 2 blocks on 3-of-4 shooting. He did it in just six minutes.
“I think it’s great,” Holmgren said. “Before, I didn’t really know how the game was supposed to be played because I’d never experienced it. I just wanted to try it out and play accordingly, and I thought it went well. It was a lot of fun…I played a good style of basketball.”
Sunday’s game isn’t Holmgren’s biggest stage yet. After all, he helped the Thunder win their first NBA championship in franchise history last season.
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Still, as Holmgren knocked down some 3-pointers during shootaround, he couldn’t help but admire his surroundings.
Stars like Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards and the Detroit Pistons’ Cade Cunningham are usually on the other end of the floor. side of enemy territory. But this time they were right there with him, letting the ball fly and doing some pregame stretches.
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February 15, 2026; Inglewood, CA, USA; All-American center Chet Holmgren (7) of the Oklahoma City Thunder dunks in Game 1 against Team World during the 75th NBA All-Star Game at the Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
“I just wanted to take a moment and think about what a cool opportunity this is,” Holmgren said. “I feel like I’m beautiful most of the time and just taking it all in.”
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Holmgren experienced a lot of other cool moments throughout the weekend.
On Friday, he attended a Foot Locker event where he gave interviews and met fans. He competed in Saturday’s Shooting Stars game, teaming up with Toronto’s Scotty Barnes and former NBA player Richard Hamilton. He even received a ring before Sunday’s game to commemorate his All-Star selection.
Holmgren said he didn’t even know that last part was going to happen. But he’s happy to add it to his growing hardware collection.
“It’s gross, but I think I like the ring we had last summer better,” Holmgren said with a laugh.
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Justin Martinez covers the Thunder and NBA for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Justin? You can contact him at jmartinez@oklahoman.com or @Justinohoops on Twitter. Sign up Thunder Sports Minute Newsletter Get more NBA coverage. Support the work of Justin and other Oklahoma journalists by purchasing one Subscribe digitally now at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
This article originally appeared in Oklahoma State: Chet Holmgren stays ‘in the moment’ in his NBA All-Star Game debut