The Oklahoma City Thunder had their sights set on the NBA All-Star voting returns, thinking it would only be about star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who was in the running to start in the mid-winter classic. Still, one of the biggest stories is a guy who has not stepped on an NBA floor yet, Chet Holmgren.
On Thursday, the NBA released their NBA All-Star voting returns including who the media, fans, and players voted for in the NBA All-Star game. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finishing fourth is not a surprise, and it was pretty expected given the popularity of Luka Doncic, Steph Curry, and Ja Morant. Though, it was still an impressive showing for SGA considering he has only played on National TV once this season to showcase his improved skills.
However, the true eyebrow-raiser was the fact that the second overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, Chet Holmgren, received four votes into the NBA All-Star game. Yes, that Chet Holmgren, who has not logged an NBA minute after suffering a Lisfranc Fracture in August at a ProAm Event in Seattle as he shared the floor with NBA stars.
Oklahoma City Thunder center, Chet Holmgren, receives four NBA All-Star votes before scoring four NBA baskets or playing four NBA minutes
The OKC Thunder saw their roster breakdown of which players got votes for the NBA All-Star game and were surprised by the fact Chet Holmgren received four votes. Who are they from?
While we do not know the answer to that question there are some pretty great guesses we can come up with. For starters, let’s turn to Orlando Magic guard Jalen Suggs.
Suggs is a lifelong friend of Holmgren, both graduated from Minnehaha High School before playing a year of college basketball at Gonzaga University. Why do I feel so confident that Suggs is one of the culprits? He only received one All-Star vote. It seems very plausible that the two traded votes for each other.
But that still leaves three other votes. Who could they be? Let’s look at the Gonzaga brotherhood. Along with Suggs and Holmgren, the Bulldogs produced Andrew Nembhard, Brandon Clarke, Rui Hachimura, Corey Kispert, Domantas Sabonis, Zach Collins, Killian Tille, and Joel Ayayi who has played in seven NBA games.
We learned in the preseason from Holmgren that the Gonzaga group stays together, including a massive dinner party at NBA Summer League to all catch up together. Holmgren even specifically pointed out conversations he has had with former Thunder big man Domantas Sabonis. Nembhard was Holmgren’s teammate last year, and the two are still very friendly on Instagram when Nembhard has big games.
Then, we look to the OKC Thunder roster. While of course, everyone is an option for this, let’s zero in on a few key members. Jalen Williams is an obvious candidate given his sense of humor and personality while also having played with Holmgren at Summer league as did Josh Giddey who is similarly funny.
Mike Muscala.
Yes, the veteran big man who on this team seems like a grandpa but is only 31 years old. While he is not viewed as a jokester like some of these younger players, the fellow Minnesotan has seen a nice friendship with Holmgren materialize.
While we will never know the true answer I do feel extremely confident Jalen Suggs is one of the voters.