By Michael Kinney
Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren unveiled a new community basketball court at Kringlen Park in Spencer Saturday. Built in partnership with JD Sports and the Chet Holmgren Foundation, the new, double basketball court features a unique design celebrating Holmgren’s commitment to the community.
“It obviously means something to me to come out and do something like this, but when you see the reaction that everybody else has because they’re not expecting this to happen,” Holmgren said. “So it’s a huge blessing for them and for them to kind of express. That to me is it is very great and I’m honored to have that.”
Following the dedication, Thunder Youth Basketball coaches held a basketball skills clinic, Holmgren took pictures, signed autographs and played basketball with attendees.
Since arriving in Oklahoma, the Thunder have made it a part of their culture to take basketball courts that are in decline and give them a facelift. They have done it in cities across the state.
According to Spencer Mayor Frank Calvin, updating the Kringlen Park court sends a strong message.
“Chet and his foundation came in and decided that they were going to invest in our community and help show the greatness of the city of Spencer,” Calvin said. “ And we are tremendously happy to let this be the day that we opened up the court. We’re in the development part of redeveloping and redefining ourselves. And to have Chet come in and help us show our commitment to family, and to being a positive growth is just a tremendous deal for us. And so right now we’re actually just trying to just show that, ‘hey, look, we’re about family, we’re about growth, we’re about positivity.’ And Chet, I think, exemplifies all of that.”
Holmgren is in the midst of his rookie year with the Thunder after sitting out all of last season with an injury. His play has helped vault the franchise to one of the best in the NBA.
While Holmgren often gives off the impression that he is all about basketball, it is at events like the court dedication that he shows he has grown to become part of Oklahoma City and the surrounding communities.
“I feel like I’m a part of this city just as much as anybody else who lived here, grew up here. I take pride in living here and living here the right way, doing things for the community, helping people out,” Holmgren said. “So, I definitely feel like it’s our city in a way.”
Spencer is trying to make a comeback of its own. Holmgren hopes the court can be something the younger generations can see to motivate them to reach for their dreams.
“It got built for the kids to come out here, use it, have fun, really anybody who wants access to a place to play basketball, that’s what it’s for,” Homgren said. “So it’s great to see that it’s already being used in good health and hopefully it is for a long time. I would’ve loved to have something like this happen in my neighborhood growing up. So I just thought it would be big for the kids to come out and put something together like this. And again, shout out to JD Sports for partnering with me on this. Shout out to the team with the Thunder. Everybody over there that helped out. And then obviously the city of Spencer. Shout out to everybody who helped make this happen.”
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