Orlando Magic show up to celebrate Jalen Suggs at his Minneapolis high school
Jalen Suggs will be running the point for the Orlando Magic against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night, but an off day for the Magic on Thursday allowed them to arrive in Minnesota early and attend Suggs' jersey retirement ceremony at his Minneapolis-based high school.
Suggs, who starred at Minnehaha Academy in basketball and football, was honored Thursday night before the varsity basketball game against The Blake School. Both his basketball and football jerseys were retired.
“A lot of great memories in this gym,” Suggs said, per the Magic. “A lot of great games, practices. Family and friends all are here, and this night is above all of it. To have everybody come back, be here for me – it’s a product of everything they’ve done for me. Their love, their support, they’ve been with me every step of the way – (not just) as a basketball player, football player, but as a human. I got to come here every day and just be Jalen ... Just be me, and that’s how they treated me. It’s a special night."
All of Suggs' Orlando teammates attended the event, as did his former high school teammate, 7-footer Chet Holmgren, who is missing his rookie season in the NBA with the Oklahoma City Thunder with a foot injury.
Suggs is the only person to win both the Minnesota Mr. Basketball and Mr. Football awards in state history. In football, he quarterbacked the SMB Wolfpack (Minnehaha Academy is part of the consolidated team) to the state championship during his junior year. SMB lost in the state championship game in Suggs' senior year.
In basketball, Suggs was part of three straight state championship teams. Both he and Holmgren went to Gonzaga, with Suggs getting drafted fifth overall in the 2021 and Holmgren going No. 2 in the 2022 draft.
