In the NBA playoffs, all it takes are a few extra foul calls to determine the outcome of a game. When games are close and everything is on the line, players bristle when a bad call or bad decision by a referee potentially affects a contest.
Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker, however, took things to a whole other level following the team’s 120-107 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday. Booker called out NBA official James Williams by name after the contest, saying the ref had a “terrible” performance that would lead to fans questioning the “integrity of the sport.”
“In my 11 years, I haven’t called a ref out by name, but James [Williams] was terrible tonight through and through. It’s bad for the sport, bad for the integrity of the sport. People are going to start viewing this as a WWE if they’re not held responsible.
“It just feels disrespectful. I know I haven’t won a championship in this league, but I have been in it for 11 years now. So to get to this point to be treated like that, for me to even be saying something out loud, it’s bad.”
Booker went so far as to invoke WWE, where outcomes are predetermined before wrestlers take the ring, in his criticism. All of that should earn Booker quite the fine once the NBA reviews his comments. The league is unlikely to respond kindly to a player implying — even lightly — that game outcomes are predetermined.
Booker, in particular, took issue with receiving a technical foul in the third quarter of the contest. The foul occurred after Booker was bumped by Thunder defender Jaylin Williams near the edge of the court. As Booker was going out of bounds, he flipped the ball behind him, trying to save it from leaving the court. The ball, however, hit Jaylin Williams, leading to referee J.B. DeRosa calling Booker for a technical foul.
In real time, it didn’t look like a nefarious action by Booker.
Booker claimed he never received an explanation for that foul. He also claimed that Thunder guard Alex Caruso told officials to call a technical foul on Booker, which was then granted. After the contest, Booker said, “It’s definitely something that has to be looked into.”
Booker wasn’t the only member of the Suns to call out the officiating following the loss. Dillon Brooks called out the officials for not allowing the teams to engage in a physical game. He also criticized Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for flopping to get calls, a common complaint of Thunder opponents during the regular season.
“[Gilgeous-Alexander is] a little frail, and that’s what the refs are going to call,” Brooks said. “I used to watch this back when Michael Jordan was playing or whoever else, when LeBron was younger. This is physical basketball. I don’t get why all of the dropping, the falling, the flopping and the flailing, all this stuff, is allowed when we get to the playoffs. For the fans, this is about who is the better team, who is the more winning team. Don’t decide the games on no free throws.”
Gilgeous-Alexander shrugged off those comments after the contest, saying he can’t control what opponents say about games. He added that Brooks’ role is to bring energy and “rile up the game.” Gilgeous-Alexander said Brooks did exactly that Wednesday.
Gilgeous-Alexander got to the free-throw line 17 times in the Thunder’s 119-84 blowout win in Game 1 of the series. Things weren’t as extreme Wednesday, as Gilgeous-Alexander attempted nine free throws in the win. Booker actually attempted one more free throw during the contest.
With the Suns now down 2-0 in the series, there’s pressure on the team to get things turned around immediately. Calling out the refs could be the team’s way of trying to change how games are officiated in the series moving forward, though it’s also going to lead to Booker — and maybe Brooks — taking a significant financial hit for their comments.
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