It’s not uncommon to hear Miami Heat fans cheering during games away from Kaseya Center. Few franchises have had as much success over the last 30 years and those three championships and playoff runs have birthed a wide-spread fanbase.
Combine Heat nation’s reach with the fact that the team has one of the league’s best road record (17-12) and the result is some frustrated broadcasters for opposing teams that got beat at home.
Mike Bibby made an NBA Finals as a member of the Miami Heat but didn't want to hear "Let's Go Heat" chants in the Sacramento Kings arena.
This is what happened on Monday night, when the shorthanded Heat went into Sacramento and beat the Kings. At one point, the Heat led by as many as 20, and the “Let’s Go Heat” chants could be heard throughout Golden 1 Center.
After the game, former NBA guard Mike Bibby, now part of the Kings broadcast, bristled at the Heat-friendly chants he heard in Sacramento’s arena.
“I don’t like the ‘Let’s Go Heat’ chants that are going around in the arena,” Bibby said. “These guys are trying to make a push, the best fans in the NBA, our team can’t be hearing that.”
Heat fans upset another broadcast with their chants.
— 𝙃𝙀𝘼𝙏 𝙉𝘼𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉 (@HeatvsHaters) February 27, 2024
Shoutout to y’all 😭 pic.twitter.com/CmJLChsY4I
What’s interesting about Bibby’s comment is that he played for the Heat for one season (2010-11) and helped LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh reach the NBA Finals in their first year after forming the Big Three. He played one more season with the Knicks before retiring in 2012.
But Bibby’s best years were spent in Sacramento, where he played seven seasons (2001-2008) and averaged 17.6 points and 5.4 assists while becoming a fan favorite.
The irony of Bibby calling out the fans of one of his former teams wasn’t lost on social media, with several people commenting under the video that Bibby played for the Heat. But he gets paid by the Kings and works for their broadcast now, and his career is mostly associated with his time in Sacramento. It’s easy to understand where he’s coming from as he roots for the Kings to make it out of the first round for the first time since he wore their jersey.
While Bibby’s comments shouldn’t be surprising, neither should the fact that Heat fans caught the broadcast’s attention with their chants in an opposing arena.