After the Phoenix Suns' Game 2 loss to the OKC Thunder, Devin Booker publicly criticized referee James Williams. The guard criticized Williams for his “terrible” officiating. While the league slapped a fine on Booker for his comments, NBA legend Dwyane Wade came in his support. 

During the post-game presser, despite knowing that he would be fined for his comments, Booker called out the referee by name. He was also seen frustrated throughout the game, challenging referees. Wade traced the trend to his time and said that Booker or any star player in the league had earned their place to “go off on a referee.” 

“Devin Booker has earned the right to say what he wants to say,” the Miami Heat legend said on the Checkin podcast on April 27th. “He’s one of those guys in the league that don’t say a lot of things, you don’t see him crying a lot. That’s not in his nature. He goes out, and he hoops. So if he says something, let him say his piece.”

However, Wade warned that the same rule didn’t apply to everybody on the Suns’ roster. “For everybody else, don’t say nothing,” he added. 

“In 11 years, I haven’t called a ref out by name, but James (Williams) was terrible tonight, through and through,” Booker had said after Game 2. “It’s bad for the sport, it’s bad for the integrity of the sport. People are going to start viewing this as the WWE if they’re not held responsible.”

While the three-time champion sympathized with Booker’s decision to speak his frustration openly, applying the same logic, he also said that the Thunder were getting calls because they had also earned it. 

“OKC has earned the right to get away with things that Phoenix will not get away with,” he added. 

Wade suggested the Thunder receive more leeway from officials due to their established status. “Be the aggressor early,” he said, asking teams to bring the force into the game early, forcing the referees to call fouls.

After Devin Booker, Dillon Brooks Calls for Officiating Accountability

Following his public comments about the game officials, Booker was fined $35,000. However, the technical call that started the controversy was rescinded by the NBA. Referees called a technical foul on Booker after a request by Alex Caruso.

After Booker, the league also rescinded a technical foul on Dillon Brooks. During the postgame press conference, Brooks called for changes to how officials are held accountable.

“That should be a new thing in the NBA,” Brooks said. “Officials got to explain themselves. It’s getting ridiculous, and you can see it starts getting fiery. There’s no control out there. And now, they’re just whistling on one side.”

The Suns failed to win a game in the series, officially ending their playoff run. After the clean sweep, the Thunder will now face the winner of the Los Angeles Lakers vs. the Houston Rockets series in the Western Conference semifinals.

Do you think Booker was right in calling out the game official? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Nandjee Ranjan

Edited by

Siddharth Rawat