May 7, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon (32) shoots from under the basket between Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein (55) and forward Chet Holmgren (7) in the first quarter during game two of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Chet Holmgren Responds to Aaron Gordon’s Comments On OKC Thunder Physicality

Originally posted on Oklahoma City Thunder on SI
By Ross Lovelace | Last updated May 9, 2025 7:00 PM ET

For a game that was never once close, at any point, Wednesday night’s Game 2 action between Oklahoma City and Denver was quite chippy. Emotions were high as both teams picked up technical fouls, and Nikola Jokic fouled out.

The Thunder ended up winning by 43 points, but the story still seemed to revolve around physicality and the officiating — at least for Denver. It’s hard to imagine that officiating had a big impact on a 43-point game, but the Nuggets made their case.

Aaron Gordon called out the officiating postgame, saying his teammate was fouled on every play. And Gordon might be right, there’s certainly contact on every play and it’s nearly impossible to slow down Jokic. But playoff physicality is a different beast, and the Thunder’s defense has been building towards this all season long.

Aaron Gordon on OKC’s physical defense:

“They’re fouling, point blank period, throughout the game.” pic.twitter.com/yvS02GWbgU
— Addam M. Francisco (@SuaveCEO_) May 8, 2025

Chet Holmgren had a chance to respond to Gordon’s comments before Friday night’s game, and his words were careful and wise. The foul count has been relatively even so far in the series, so on the floor, it doesn’t really feel slighted in one direction — and that’s what Holmgren is feeling.

“I feel like when we’ve fouled, we’ve been called for fouls,” Holmgren said. “When they foul, they’ve been called for fouls. At the end of the day, I only have one point of view out there. I can’t see the whole play, so I can’t really speak to what’s happening every single play.

“I feel like it’s a physical game of basketball. That’s what the playoffs is. We just have to come out and be ready for that.”

Chet Holmgren on Aaron Gordon’s comments from Wednesday: “I feel like when we’ve fouled, we’ve been called for fouls. When they foul, they’ve been called for fouls. … i feel like it’s a physical game of basketball. That’s what the playoffs is. We just have to be ready for that.” pic.twitter.com/a8SLKN7YNp
— Joel Lorenzi (@JoelXLorenzi) May 9, 2025

Williams definitely didn't mean any ill-will with his comments, he was just offering his raw postgame thoughts. It has been a physical series to this point, and both teams will certainly have qualms with the officiating.

Game 3 in Denver will surely have lots of physicality and big moments in store. As the games get bigger, both tensions and physicality levels always rise.

This article first appeared on Oklahoma City Thunder on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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