It’s very expensive salt in the wound for Devin Booker. The NBA has officially disciplined the Phoenix Suns guard following a volatile Game 2 in the Western Conference first-round series. Despite a vocal defense from Suns owner Mat Ishbia, the league announced on Thursday that Booker has been fined $35,000 for publicly criticizing the officiating.

The fine follows a 120–107 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on April 22, a game defined by physical play and several disputed whistles that left the visitors’ locker room at the Paycom Center filled with fuming Suns players, and one furious team owner.

The controversy centers on veteran referee James Williams, whom Booker singled out during an impassioned post-game press conference. Book received a technical foul during the contest and did not hold back in his assessment of the officiating.

“In my 11 years, I haven’t called a ref out by name, but James [Williams] was terrible tonight through and through,” Booker said. “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 getting to this point, to be treated like that, for me to even be saying something out loud, it’s bad.”

His fiery statement got him support from his entire organization and a five-figure fine from the NBA. The main justification for the fine, according to the league office, was Booker’s decision to publicly single out official James Williams by name.

James Jones, NBA Executive Vice President and Head of Basketball Operations, confirmed the fine and stated that an investigation found “no basis to any claim of bias or misconduct by game officials,” although most of the NBA community on social media didn’t see anything nefarious in the exact sequence Williams called.

The NBA did offer a token consolation. While the league upheld the fine, they did provide a partial admission of error by rescinding a technical foul that officials assessed to Booker at the 2:05 mark of the third quarter. This specific call had been a primary point of contention, as Booker believed he was saving a ball from going out-of-bounds while Thunder guard Alex Caruso appeared to influence the official to call a technical.

Devin Booker, Mat Ishbia, and the Suns left with a bitter taste after Game 2 officiating

Game 2 between the Phoenix Suns and Oklahoma City Thunder was contentious for all the wrong reasons. Fans online pointed out that the officials were favoring the defending champions heavily.

Devin Booker had at least two sequences where he accidentally made contact with an opposing player during natural movement and was called for offensive fouls. At one point, Dillon Brooks blatantly did the ‘flopping’ gesture when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander fell to the floor, and later called him out too. SGA and OKC have been largely dismissive of the Suns’ complaints.

In one sequence, Booker’s elbow hit Alex Caruso’s face while going for a jumper, a visual most social media felt was natural motion and not intentional, worth a foul. The controversial one was when Book bumped into Jaylin Williams at the edge of the court. The ball hit Williams, and referee J.B. DeRosa assessed Book a tech. The 29-year-old later claimed that it was Alex Caruso who told officials to call a tech on him.

Booker and the fans weren’t the only ones outraged. After that presser, Suns owner Mat Ishbia fired a lengthy rant on X.

“I am 100% behind Devin Booker here. Last night was not a good look for our league,” he wrote. “Let me be clear, we didn’t lose because of officiating, but that doesn’t make last night any less important. If the referees are going to demand respect from the players – as they should – then the players should demand respect from the referees.

“When a referee is missing calls and clearly disrespecting the players, almost mocking them, they must be held accountable. Nobody who loves this game enjoyed watching that last night. They want to see the players compete at the highest level. The league needs to be far more aggressive about this kind of thing. All players and all fans deserve it.”

While the outrage got the technical rescinded, this fine probably isn’t the outcome the Phoenix Suns wanted. Ishbia was hoping for referee accountability and got none of that.

Going into Game 3 in Phoenix, this incident could become a lightning rod in a significant rift between the Suns organization and the league’s officiating standards.