Kristin Chenoweth, Oklahoma native, is excited to perform the national anthem before the match 7 of the NBA Finals | Mint

Oklahoma City (AP) -Kristin Chenoweth always wanted to play basketball on 4-foot-11. It never happened, but she still reached the NBA final. The award-winning actress, singer, native of Oklahoma, Oklahoma Hall of Fame Inductee and Unmblashed Thunder fan was the choice to perform ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ on Sunday night. Chenoweth’s performance will yield EDT at ABC at 20:00, shortly before the forefront of the final match of the season. She has acted on some of the biggest phases in the world – but doing the national anthem for a Thunder game gives her butterflies. “Let me just say, if they had anxiety medication for Thunder fans, I would take it,” Chenoweth, dressed in a Thunder Sweatshirt, told The Associated Press after her sound control at the arena on Sunday. Chenoweth’s Thunder -Fandom has been no secret since the early years of the franchise, although she also sometimes claimed that she also liked the Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks. That said, the Thunder is clearly her top choice – so much that she once told the Tulsa world that she spent three hours a thunderstorm. She went to the University of Oklahoma City, after growing up in Broken Arrow, about 115 kilometers north of the east from where the Thunder plays. And her 8-year-old dog’s name is thunder. She even put on the puppy once in a thunderstorm. “I never miss a game unless I’m on stage,” Chenoweth said. “I was a cheerleader in high school in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, and I loved football, but my favorite was basketball. I like how much of a team player you had to be. … and this is my team. ‘ In the past, Chenoweth sang the national anthem at a few Thunder games, sometimes alone and at least once with children of her Chenoweth Broadway Bootcamp. The camp is part of the arts and education fund that she established to cultivate a young artistic expression by enriching children’s lives through the power of education, entertainment and experience. ” “I had some pretty big moments in my life in the field of entertainment, but this one, I don’t know why, make me nervous,” Chenoweth said. “I’m just very honored that they asked it. And I’m proud of these kids. I mean, we’ve come so far. Of course, I want us to win. When the NFL hired me for the national anthem, you remain neutral. But the NBA didn’t hire me for this, so I had it thunder. ‘ And the national anthem – who finishes the soprano with her own flair – is a difficult song to act, she said. Singing the words written by Francis Scott Key about the defense of Fort Mchenry is a duty she takes seriously. “In fact, what he saw, it is very important for me to remember the words and talk about what they mean at the time and what it means to us now,” Chenoweth said. Chenoweth won a Tony award in 1999 for the best leading actress in a musical for her role in “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.” She received two other Tony nominations for the best leading actress in a musical, one in 2004 for playing Glinda in ‘Wicked’-she lost to co-star Idina Menzel-and the other in 2015 for playing the Hollywood Diva Lily Garland in the 1920s in the 1920s. And in 2009, she won an Emmy for the best actress in a comedy series for her work on ABC’s “Pushing Daisies.” She returns to Broadway this fall and plays Jackie Siegel in ‘The Queen of Versailles’. “I still have the desire,” Chenoweth said. “I really think what inspires me lately is young talent. I see and look and learn from it. Hopefully they learn from me. And there’s nothing better than looking at a emerging talent whether it’s basketball or a singer, an artist, that’s my jam. What keeps me going now is other people who inspire me to do what I love. ‘ ___