Q. What was your summer like? Assuming you got through the trophy and everything else, got to interact with some fans. What was it like the rest of the summer?
CHET HOLMGREN: It was great. I'd say my summer was pretty similar to other summers, except for the first two weeks probably. And then about halfway through I took a vacation, which I've never really done.
But other than that, it was the same, regular program, man. Stayed in one place for the most part. Had my weekly routine -- workouts, nutrition, weight room, kind of did it day in, day out, stuck to it. And came back later than I normally do. That's the difference. But we also got done later.
Shorter summer. But kind of the flow of it was pretty similar.
Q. Chet, how do you feel physically now going into this next season compared to when you came back from the hip injury last season?
CHET HOLMGREN: Yeah. I feel a lot better. I understood where the team was at while I was hurt, and we had an opportunity to do something special. And I wanted to get back as quick as possible to kind of get my legs under me, get my feel for playing basketball again as early as I could, give myself the most runway before the playoffs.
And I don't think any of those decisions were wrong. I'd make all the same decisions again. But I didn't have the time necessarily that I needed to kind of get my body to where it needed to be to feel great.
So that was a big emphasis this summer in the weight room and on the PT table, just really making sure that I feel really good going into the season.
Q. Shai said that you're just scratching the surface of the player you could ultimately become. I assume you feel that same way? If so, what are some of those ways that you can reach that level?
CHET HOLMGREN: Yeah. I agree with that statement. That's a big part of why I work really hard is because I know that there's more to tap into. But there is no -- there's no checklist for reaching that. You really just have to attack every day with the right intentions. You have to really key into the details. You have to try things, be willing to fail, figure out what works, what doesn't work. And then when things don't work, you have to figure out how to make them work.
It's really just, it's a never-ending process. There's no guarantees of what I will get to, what I won't get to. But I'm always going to chase the best outcome.
Q. Every player grows up dreaming of winning a championship. But the thought of bringing that trophy back home, is that something you also envision as a kid growing up? And if it was, was it what you thought it would be?
CHET HOLMGREN: No. I really didn't get that far. But it was great bringing able to bring it home. Since I got drafted, just being so busy with basketball and everything, I haven't really been home for an extended period of time. So itself able to go home for a couple of weeks.
And I think I was the first one to bring the trophy anywhere, and it was special to be able to bring it home, kind of show the kids what's possible, because when I was growing up, there were no trophies in Minnesota. So just kind of wanted to show the kids that it was kind of possible of. And they might be playing at the rec center now, but if they work really hard and have a little bit of luck, they can do something like that, too.
Q. I was going to ask about that. What was the importance of bringing it back to the rec center specifically for you? How much does that place mean to you?
CHET HOLMGREN: It meant a lot. It wasn't anything that was posted anywhere. It really wasn't like a public announcement. I really just told all of my buddies, old teammates, old coaches, friends and family, said, tell your little cousins, little nephews, whatever it might be, to come, take a picture with the trophy if they want to. I had food trucks for all them, got to play a little basketball with them.
And a lot of people actually showed up. It was probably 800-something people at the rec center. And that's what it was about. I didn't want to make it some big public thing. I really wanted it to be for kind of the people in that area and the people who are kind of close to my community. So it was special.
Q. Looking at the big picture of things, what does it mean to you that the three primary core pieces of this team have re-signed? (Indiscernible)?
CHET HOLMGREN: I mean, I think it's great. I have enjoyed the time that I've had here playing with not only those guys but everybody else. I've enjoyed the time with the coaches, all the support staff, the front office. Everybody here is great.
And you know, you guys know, we all know, sports isn't forever. It never is. But it's not how long this is going to be what it is with the people here. It's going to come down to us and how hard we work, how we execute, how we make the most of it.
I'm really excited to not only continue playing with these guys, but also to see them be able to get those extensions as well. It's life changing not only for them but their families and everything. So I couldn't be happier for them.
Q. Last year around this time, a ton of the intrigue going into media day was seeing how you and Hart would play together. Where do you think you guys have made the most strides and how do you think you can get better going into the season?
CHET HOLMGREN: I feel like there were a lot of different areas that we improved at. I also feel like we still have a long ways to go as a pair, as a team. And there's no team I would rather say that about and rather try to improve with than this team and especially Hart.
He's somebody who goes out there, gives it his all every single night, does everything it takes to win, the big things, the little things, the gritty things. He'll go out there and fracture his nose for the team. It doesn't matter. He's done it all for us. He's been amazing, and I look forward to continuing to improve next to him.
Q. And you guys are all really confident guys, but what's the difference in confidence going into a season thinking you can win a championship versus now knowing that you guys can do that?
CHET HOLMGREN: I'd say the biggest thing is what we learned about how to chase something like that. You know, nobody's coming into the first day of training camp tomorrow thinking about championship. We're thinking about what we have to do that day to get better. And we all understand that we have to do that every single day in order to give ourselves a chance to accomplish something special like that.
And that's the mindset that everybody has. We're all bought into that, and you can't focus on what's going on in June in day one of training camp, you know? If you do that, you won't be playing in June, so we understand that.
Q. What's it like, offseason teams, the West is always tough. Denver has depth and size. Houston has shooting. This team trying to add whatever to beat you. What's that feel like?
CHET HOLMGREN: I mean I feel like every team understands that they have to continue to get better and we're no different. We have to continue to improve, continue to get better. And if we do that, that'll put us in a good spot. And that's the way that every team is thinking. So I think that's just what we have to focus on.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports