Chet Holmgren Clarifies Take That Had Miami Heat Fans Checking Receipts

The Thunder forward said he meant to pay a compliment to Heat fans.

Josh Wilson | Jul 18, 2024

Thunder forward Chet Holmgren (7) looks to pass the ball as Miami Heat guard Jaime Jaquez Jr. (11) defends. / Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports

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On a recent episode of the Road Trippin' podcast with Allie Clifton, Richard Jefferson and Channing Frye, Chet Holmgren was asked what his favorite road arenas to play in are. It's an open-ended question that lets the player apply their own subjective criteria to determine their favorite. Most wins? Best environment? Best visitor locker room? The truth is in the eye of the beholder.

Holmgren threw Miami on the list because, "it's just like, empty." He then said it puts the onus on the away team to build a lead by the fourth quarter when, ostensibly, Heat fans have finally arrived to their seats. The fans are often stereotyped as a late-arriving crowd to Heat games, and many took the statement to be an indictment of their passion.

After the quote was publicized and critiqued by Heat fans and writers, many of whom dug into his playing time in Miami only to find out he played in just one game in South Beach that didn't circumstantially match his take on the fourth-quarter lead, Holmgren took to X (formerly Twitter) to clarify the take.

"Y’all get mad when nba players never have anything to say to media, but then chop our quotes up to get reactions. I was saying the seats r empty until the 4th quarter when fans come back from the lounges after a few drinks and the atmosphere is great for close games. Its actually a compliment…"

Clearly, Holmgren thinks his statement was taken out of context and cut to increase engagement.

In its full context, the quote is in this video, around the 25 minute mark:

Published Jul 18, 2024

JOSH WILSON

Josh Wilson is the news director of the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in 2024, he worked for FanSided in a variety of roles, most recently as senior managing editor of the brand’s flagship site. He has also served as a general manager of Sportscasting, the sports arm of a start-up sports media company, where he oversaw the site’s editorial and business strategy. Wilson has a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from SUNY Cortland and a master’s in accountancy from the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois. He loves a good nonfiction book and enjoys learning and practicing Polish. Wilson lives in Chicago but was raised in upstate New York. He spent most of his life in the Northeast and briefly lived in Poland, where he ate an unhealthy amount of pastries for six months.