Thunder stud Chet Holmgren calls out media for altering quotes 'to get reactions'
By Mark Nilon
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For years, there's been a consistent level of disconnect and disdain for the media by professional athletes. Recently, OKC Thunder star Chet Holmgren provided fans and pundits alike with a straightforward reason why.
During a July 16 appearance on the Road Trippin' podcast, the 22-year-old was asked to list the three arenas in the association that he thinks are "real hooper arenas."
After quickly rattling off Golden State's name, Holmgren would proceed to include the Heat on his list, stating that he enjoys playing at Kaseya Center because, in his words, "it's just, like, empty" for the first three periods "and then the fourth quarter comes around... it gets wild."
Though intended to be a compliment to Miami and their fanbase, the Thunder big believes his words were spun in a negative light in a post by the X account NBACentral, where they left out his part about the final 12 minutes of action in the arena when things generally start to heat up (no pun intended).
In response to the post, Holmgren issued a statement seemingly directed toward the account and media outlets and personnel as a whole, as he noted they "chop our quotes up to get reactions."
Thunder star Chet Holmgren claps back at media following viral misquote
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… https://t.co/jkq5Fp0WvY
— chet holmgren (@ChetHolmgren) July 18, 2024
While some Heat fans may have been a bit triggered by the comments made by Holmgren, it seemed as though his statement may carry some weight among NBA players, as now-retired ballers and co-hosts of the Road Trippin' podcast, Channing Frye and Richard Jefferson both reacted in agreement to the claim, with the former even following up with "we know what you mean, they come in late."
During his rookie season, the Thunder squared off against Miami on two separate occasions, one of which took place down in South Beach. Interestingly enough, his matchup in the Sunshine State proved to be his best of the two, as he went on to register 23 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 blocks on 66.7 percent shooting from the floor en route to a hard-fought, late-surge 128-120 victory.
On top of this, it was during the fourth quarter (the period he tried complimenting the fans for making so entertaining for away teams) where Holmgren found himself serving as the catalyst in Oklahoma City's comeback win, as he led his team in points (9) and blocks (2) while missing just one of his five attempts from the field during this stretch.
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