Dwyane Wade claps back at Ersan Ilyasova

For years, fans and commentators have lambasted (the sometimes late-arriving) Miami Heat fans. Philadelphia’s Ersan Ilyasova took a shot at Heat fans before the Sixers lost Game 1 to the Boston Celtics Monday night, saying that “in Miami, the gym was half-empty” and that Boston has “committed fans.”

Three-time NBA champion and Heat legend Dwyane Wade clapped back at the journeyman, who has played for six NBA teams. Wade said that “most of you don’t even know” Ilyasova.

A Sixers fan may retort that Wade is tweeting from home while Ilyasova is playing in the second round. But there’s no comparing Wade’s career to that of Ilyasova.

Besides, I’ve always found the criticism about Heat fans showing up late to arenas to be strange. Every NBA team has fans who are die-hard and others who are more casual. Cities have varying degrees of entertainment options for their residents. Talking about crowd size is simply another frivolous exercise that fans and pundits get into. It’s not worth much time.