The NBA continued its annual tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday, but that didn’t stop NBA fans from finding a way to turn the spotlight toward Chet Holmgren — and not for basketball reasons.
Before the Oklahoma City Thunder tipped off against the Cleveland Cavaliers, parody account NBACentel dropped a satirical post claiming Chet Holmgren would be “sitting in the back seat of the team bus following the game to honor MLK Day.”
The reference to the Montgomery Bus Boycott was clear enough — and NBA fans didn’t hesitate.
“Heard he was sitting out to protest in Minnesota,” joked @BustyRuckett.
Heard he was sitting out to protest in Minnesota
— Bucketz (@BustyRuckett) January 19, 2026
“A man of character!” added @SnoopVonPoop.
Others just acknowledged the creativity behind it.
“yall dirty for this lol,” wrote @Sam_king_88.
While the fake tweet made the rounds, Holmgren handled things the only way players really can — on the floor.
Oklahoma City took control early and never gave Cleveland much breathing room, rolling to a 136-104 win at Rocket Arena behind strong nights from both Holmgren and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
“Chet absolutely stole my heart with those stats”: NBA fans react to Holmgren’s MLK Day performance
Once the game was over, the tone online flipped.
Holmgren finished with 28 points and eight rebounds, just shy of a double-double, while consistently making his presence felt on both ends.
“Wow, Chet, you absolutely stole my heart with those stats!” posted @YanaSn0w1.
“Better than wemby,” added @thammaeus.
Another fan zoomed out to the bigger picture.
“The league is in good hands,” wrote @denzelayeah.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led all scorers with 30 points as the Thunder walked out of Cleveland with one of their most lopsided wins of the season.
