Inside The Thunder

OKC Thunder Players Give Back to Local Community With Holidays Approaching

In the midst of the holiday season, four Oklahoma City standouts recently gave back to the local community.
Randall Sweet|
Dec 18, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren (7) dribbles down the court against the Los Angeles Clippers during the first quarter at Paycom Center.
Dec 18, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren (7) dribbles down the court against the Los Angeles Clippers during the first quarter at Paycom Center. | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

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Oklahoma City Thunder

The holiday season is in full swing, and the Oklahoma City Thunder are giving back to the local community to celebrate.

The organization is no stranger to charitable efforts, as the team participates in multiple community enrichment events year round. This holidays are no different for members of OKC's roster.

As Sam Presti has noted, the team looks for "people first and players second" which is a continued theme with the group's recent efforts around the Modern Frontier. In early December, almost the entire team held a "Holiday Shopping Spree" at Target for families from Sunbeam Family Services as part of the Thunder's holiday assist program.

Recently, a few individuals on the team have also given back to the local community.

Isaiah Hartenstein and the Hartenstein Foundation took kids from the Boys & Girls Club of Oklahoma City on a holiday shopping spree of their own.

"Christmas is an important holiday for myself," Hartenstein said. So just being able to give back, give back to the families in need and, again, work with the Boys & Girls Club was very special."

According to Teena Belcik, the president and CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Oklahoma City, Hartenstein also gifted a signed basketball, an additional gift card to "come back and shop later," and a ham for a holiday meal.

Hartenstein wasn't the only Thunder big man to make a difference around the holidays. Chet Holmgren also did his part to spread cheer in the local community.

Holmgren recently hosted families from Citzen's Caring for Children, a local organization focused on "helping kids in foster care build self-confidence," and "providing hope, changing lives & creating healthy futures for Oklahoma's children in foster care."

At Holmgren's event, families were treated to, "an evening filled with food, crafts, and gifts."

Holmgren and his family also recently visited Tinker Air Force Base in the OKC area, where the Thunder standout delivered food, gifts and autographed jerseys to over 350 people.

Jalen Williams has also done his part, as the Thunder partnered with Homeland, a local grocery store chain, to provide one family with a holiday shopping spree alongside the All-NBA wing player.

"It's really special, the holidays are about family, and being there for one another," Williams said. "I think that kind of gets lost in the mix of everything thats going on. So, it's cool to give back and be able to do it with the organization that, obviously, drafted me and just to be able to give back to the community, that means a lot to the city, is really, really special."

Finally, second-year guard Ajay Mitchell hosted a basketball clinic with "drills and holiday fun" for kids from Special Olympics Oklahoma.

Mitchell encouraged kids at the event as they participated in drills, and Rumble the Bison, OKC's mascot, even made an appearance.

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Randall Sweet
RANDALL SWEET

Randall Sweet is a 2022 Oklahoma University graduate who has formerly written for the Norman Transcript and OU Daily. Randall also serves as the Communications Coordinator at Visit OKC.

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