Chet Holmgren Responds To Aaron Gordon's Claim That Okc Thunder Get Away With Fouls

After the Oklahoma City Thunder's 149-106 Game 2 win over the Denver Nuggets, the latter have begun with the mind games. Aaron Gordon took to reporters to swear the first seed has gotten away with fouls, specifically against Nikola Jokic.

Add him to the growing list of opposing coaches and players complaining about the Thunder's physical defense. The league-best defense sits atop most defensive categories all season. They've blitzed teams on the scoreboard with turnovers and fastbreak buckets.

Chet Holmgren is the face of the Thunder's defense. Nuggets interim coach David Adelman called him one of the best shot-blockers. When asked about Gordon's comments, the 23-year-old went the safe route.

“I feel like when we foul, we’ve been called for fouls. When they foul, they’ve been called for fouls," Holmgren said. At the end of the day, I only have one point of view out there... I feel like it’s a physical game of basketball. That’s what the playoffs are. We all just have to be ready for that."

Chet Holmgren on Aaron Gordon saying they get away with fouls: “I feel like when we foul, we’ve been called for fouls. When they foul, they’ve been called for foul… It’s a physical game of basketball. That’s what the playoffs are.” pic.twitter.com/V0XLXNbOJD

— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) May 9, 2025

The Thunder have been taxed for their physical defense. They were top-five in the regular season for fouls called against and have been in the same group for the NBA playoffs so far. A veteran like Gordon should understand that calls get sliced in the postseason.

That said, this is Gordon's attempt to politick to the referees for more fouls to get called against the Thunder. Doing so could lead players like Holmgren to get into foul trouble as he tries to defend Jokic. We'll see how effective the strategy will be as OKC travels to Denver for Games 3 and 4.

This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Chet Holmgren on Aaron Gordon's claim that Thunder get away with fouls