Former Gonzaga star's favorite books resurface ahead of NBA Finals appearance

In an interview with GQ that was posted in November and has since resurfaced online, Holmgren broke down the 10 most essential things in his life, including his sister's homemade cookies and his expensive cologne collection. The Oklahoma City forward also went into detail about his "coffee table books" — books that "don't belong on a bookshelf," according to Holmgren. While heavy on pictures, there his go-to read whenever he's in need of inspiration or just "kicking it at the crib."

"Another reason I also love these books is I dropped out of college, so too many words on the page kind of hurts my brain," Holmgren said while holding a massive book about jewelry. "So it's always good when there are a lot of pictures in there, which I think is pretty cool."

The rest of Holmgren's collection included a fashion book written by former artist, architect and fashion designer Virgil Abloh; a copy of "Marvel Comics Library", containing every volume of the Avengers comic series starting from Vol. 1; and what appeared to be a copy of Rolex's "The Watch Book."

"It's just really inconvenient to try and open up and carry around, because it's huge," Holmgren said while closing his massive index on watches.

The snippet of Holmgren breaking down his essential literature has come to light again just a few days ahead of his NBA Finals debut, as the Thunder take on the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of the championship round Thursday, 5:30 p.m. PST on ABC. Holmgren's former Gonzaga teammate, Andrew Nembhard, helped guide the Pacers to the Finals after a gutsy performance against the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Holmgren became the sixth former Gonzaga player to reach the NBA Finals after he and the Thunder crushed the Minnesota Timberwolves by 30 points in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals. OKC dominated from start to finish after Holmgren got the offense going with a 3-pointer and a transition dunk, settling down the Thunder faithful and putting his team out in front for good. The Thunder shot 52.8% from the field and scored 18 points off 21 turnovers from Minnesota, which was held to just 41.2% shooting, while Holmgren finished with 22 points, seven rebounds and three blocks.

Zags fans saw a lot of Holmgren this past March whenever his lyrical — and repetitive — AT&T commercial with OKC teammate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander came on during the broadcast of the NCAA Tournament. His other TV spot with Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams, in which all three are wearing the same outfit, also offers a small glimpse into Holmgren's life outside of basketball, particularly in regard to his new interest in fashion. His sit-down with GQ, however, is a much more extensive look at who the Minnesota native and former No. 2 overall pick is when he's not dribbling a ball around or swatting away a shot from his opponent.

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