Getty Jayson Tatum #0, Boston Celtics
During the second quarter of the Boston Celtics game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Jayson Tatum was called for committing a foul against the Thunder’s Aleksej Pokuševski. After the foul was called, Tatum clapped his hands in frustration, which apparently was enough to warrant being called for a technical foul.
Neither Tatum, his teammates, or the crowd, nor the Celtics broadcasting team agreed with the technical foul that had been assessed to Tatum.
The Celtics won the game 126-122 so that free throw ultimately did not impact the final result of the game. The day after the Celtics defeated the Thunder, the NBA decided to rescind the technical foul that had been called on Tatum, according to Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe.
The technical grabbed the attention of Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant, who condemned it as the worst technical he’d seen on his Twitter page.
“Jayson Tatum just received the worst tech I’ve seen in the NBA in a while. I’m actually laughing,” Durant tweeted.
Jayson tatum just received the worst tech I’ve seen in the nba in a while. I’m actually laughing
With the victory over the Thunder, the Celtics have now won seven straight games and are 11-3, which is good enough for the best record in the NBA.
Tatum’s Thoughts on His Technical
After the game, Tatum was asked what was going on leading up to when he was called for the technical. Tatum said that his clap was not directed at the official and was more out of frustration he had with himself.
“I think I just missed a layup, and I just committed a foul,” Tatum told reporters after the game. “Anybody in the arena, anybody watching the game could have seen I was frustrated with myself. I didn’t say anything. I didn’t look at them. After the game, just laugh it off.”
Tatum has accumulated a number of technical fouls over his career. Last season, he was assessed 13 technical fouls. He was two away from being suspended in the league for one game.
Grant Williams on His Suspension
Tatum is not the only Celtic who has had his issues with officials. Grant Williams also had a run-in with them, as he was ejected and later suspended by the league for making contact with one during the Celtics’ game against the Chicago Bulls on October 24.
After the league had suspended Williams for their next game, Williams accepted responsibility for his punishment when talking to reporters.
“Disappointed for sure. I was more so disappointed about missing the game. It’s definitely one of those things which you never want to let your team down, and I felt like I did,” Williams said. “When it comes to punishment, it’s just for sure. I made a mistake. So for me, it’s something I probably won’t challenge. Especially the fact that one, it’s a female referee, and two, it’s not something that we want our players to be doing in the league. So no matter if it was inadvertent or not, I gotta be better.”
While Williams has gotten technicals in his NBA career, that incident marked the first time Williams had ever been ejected in his entire career.