As expected, Devin Booker has been penalized for his blistering criticism of NBA officials after Wednesday’s 120-107 Game 2 road loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The league announced the Phoenix Suns star’s $35,000 fine on Thursday, prompting strong pushback from the NBA world, which overwhelmingly sided with Booker.
Devin Booker’s $35K Fine For Blasting Referees Causes a Stir After Controversial Game 2 Officiating
Booker didn’t hold back on what he felt was biased officiating on Wednesday, particularly voicing his displeasure over a head-scratching late third-quarter technical foul.
After being bumped by Thunder big man Jaylin Williams and losing control of the ball, Booker tried to save it from going out of bounds as he crashed into the sideline. He flipped the ball behind his back, but it ended up hitting Williams, and the officiating crew ultimately assessed a technical foul after some lobbying from OKC veteran guard Alex Caruso.
In his postgame interview, Booker dubbed the refereeing “terrible tonight through and through,” calling out referee James Williams by name. The five-time All-Star continued to assess the potential ramifications of such seemingly biased calls.
“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,” Booker said. “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.”
Despite Booker’s frustration, the NBA found “no basis to any claim of bias or misconduct by game officials.” Still, the league noted that the 29-year-old’s divisive technical foul was “improperly assessed” and would be rescinded.
The NBA’s decision to still issue Booker a hefty fine despite admitting the officiating crew’s blunder left many on X vexed and confused.
“When are we gonna start fining the refs?” one user questioned.
“Booker complained about the ref giving him the tech, got fined for it, and then they removed the tech because it was a bad tech. Make it make sense,” fan account KlawWrld implored.
“So, the NBA rescinded the technicals for Devin Booker, Dillon Brooks, and Lu Dort… while simultaneously dropping a report saying their investigation ‘found nothing.’ Ghost techs rescinded by ghost investigators? Sleep well fans,” San Antonio Spurs reporter Dusty Garza reacted.
“Imagine James Jones having to fine Devin Booker for a technical foul that was rescinded,” Arizona Sports 98.7 FM’s Dan Bickley spoke out.
As for Booker, he made it clear on Wednesday that he was more than willing to pay the price financially in an effort to garner his squad more respect.
“This is my first time in 11 years, but it’s needed,” Booker added. “Whatever I get fined for it, everybody can pull the clips and see where the frustration is from.”
It remains to be seen if Booker’s blunt remarks and subsequent fine will have any bearing on the officiating in Saturday’s Game 3 showdown in Phoenix. The Suns trail 2-0 in their first-round Western Conference playoff series and have looked outmatched on both ends against the 64-win defending NBA champions, likely contributing to Booker’s irritation.
