For a team as dominant as the Oklahoma City Thunder, you wouldn’t expect them to need any help, but after a controversial whistle involving Devin Booker in Game 2, that’s exactly what people are questioning. They’ve recorded consecutive seasons with 60+ wins. Their opponents, the Phoenix Suns, have played two additional games before reaching the postseason. Yet, in Game 2 of their first-round series on Wednesday night- a game OKC won 120-107 to take a 2-0 series lead- the officiating once again became the story.

This isn’t a rant about Shai Gilgeous-Alexander by any means. But it has to be said: the Thunder’s way of playing the game sits in a gray area that the referees have consistently failed to police fairly. Game 2 provided the starkest illustration yet.

The sequence that broke the internet was straightforward. On one possession, Devin Booker did what good offensive players do- he got Alex Caruso off-balance, leaned into him during a natural shooting motion, and tried to complete the play. It was ruled an offensive foul on Booker. This was not a trivial moment.

The Suns had been clawing back into the game, trailing 88-79 in the fourth quarter with under eight minutes left, and a converted basket would have made it a single-possession game. Instead of cutting the deficit, Phoenix turned the ball over.

Then, just a few possessions later, SGA executed a near-identical move- spinning into the defender’s arms and initiating the contact. The call: a foul on the defender, and Gilgeous-Alexander went to the line. Booker stared at the officials in bewilderment. Watching on, so was everyone else.

The Thunder are sensational as it is. They have a stellar collection of talent and are favorites to win it all. Yet, it’s such moments that keep the community from celebrating them. And this was just one such instance. For many fans, tonight’s game was the last straw in watching the Thunder play basketball.

They didn’t just see Shai Gilgeous-Alexander get free throws for the same motion that Booker performed and recorded a turnover. This game had several such instances that have irritated the fans once again.

NBA fans don’t understand the OKC whistle

“Do people actually enjoy watching OKC brand of basketball?” a fan wondered. SGA has been called a foul merchant for the last two seasons, with the debate reaching a boiling point in late March when Gilgeous-Alexander took 25 free throws against the Detroit Pistons while the entire Pistons team took 23.

Back to Game 2. The Booker-SGA double standard was far from the only flashpoint. Chet Holmgren fell without any contact under the rim and instantly drew a whistle. Later, Holmgren, who finished with 19 points, eight rebounds, and four blocks- blatantly leaned into Gillespie after a shot-fake, resulting in another foul call.

Even their own fans seem to be turning against their brand of basketball. “OKC team now is disgusting to watch. As an Oklahoman, I am not proud of our team,” a fan wrote. What hurts isn’t the referees falling for the bait. It’s the players who seem to be taking complete advantage of the treatment.

It wasn’t just critics sounding the alarm- opposing coaches have been saying the quiet part out loud for months. Back in early March, after a 103-100 road loss, New York Knicks coach Mike Brown received his first technical as Knicks coach after protesting an action he believed should have been called as the third personal foul on Gilgeous-Alexander.

His assessment afterward was blunt: “SGA is a very difficult player to defend and does a great job convincing the referees — probably better than anyone in the league — that he is being hit.”

“7’5 getting a foul called on 5’11 dude dawg. You cannot make this up, it is rigged,” a fan expressed after Chet Holmgren blatantly leaned into Gillespie after a shot-fake. Judging by the play, it was worse than what Booker did. He made minimal contact with Caruso’s face during a natural shooting motion. Yet, because the Thunder guard suggested it happened, the officials called it an offensive foul.

And it goes back further still. In last year’s playoffs, a foul called on Nickeil Alexander-Walker while guarding his cousin, SGA, was overturned after the Timberwolves challenged. On replay, it was determined that there was no illegal contact, yet Gilgeous-Alexander ended up on the ground.

The flop was not penalized. The broader context is important here: SGA is not the only foul-baiter in the NBA. Before him came James Harden and Trae Young, players the league took active and popular steps to disincentivize.

Before the 2021-22 season, the NBA announced an interpretive change in the officiating of overt, abrupt, or abnormal non-basketball moves by offensive players intended to draw fouls. Gilgeous-Alexander has seemingly found his way around that rule ever since.

And matters turned worse when Booker got a technical foul. It wasn’t for violent conduct or disrespecting the officials. Book tried to save the ball from going out of bounds and accidentally hit Jaylin Williams. That was all. “AND PEOPLE WONDER WHY EVERYONE HATES OKC,” a fan mentioned. Williams also got a technical on that play for shoving Booker. Both calls seemed extremely unnecessary.

In the final box score, OKC’s free-throw advantage was not enormous, but the process of arriving at that number was deeply uneven. In Game 1 alone, SGA went 15-for-17 from the free throw line while shooting just 5-for-18 from the field, a stat that even prompted the Suns’ own broadcast team to take notice.

Earlier this season, after a play where Jamaree Bouyea was seemingly fouled by Ajay Mitchell, the Suns announcer quipped:

“If we had broken down every time SGA had the ball, there would be multiple fouls like that.”

It’s just such unpleasant moments that have drawn the ire of fans. “Ya why I have absolutely no interest in the NBA anymore. It’s so soft it’s hard to watch,” a fan said.

Simply put, things can be better at this point. No one is suggesting other teams get the same calls as OKC. But if that’s how the officials want the game to be, there needs to be some parity. The Thunder are a great basketball club, imperious on both sides of the court. When playing clean, they are still ferocious and often overwhelming for most teams.

That’s the reason these things sting. It’s easily avoidable and wouldn’t ruin anything for OKC. However, when such things happen regularly, it hurts the NBA’s product. The Thunder are amazing, but they are still getting some help from officials when it’s uncalled for. Slowly but surely, fans are starting to lose interest in the game they fell in love with for its purity.