Devin Booker refused to hold back his true thoughts on the officiating in the Game 2 matchup between the Phoenix Suns and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night.
What started as a question about Booker getting hit with a technical foul turned into a lengthy rant, which is sure to land Devin Booker a fine in the mail in the coming days.
Booker not only criticized calls, but name-dropped a referee. In addition, the Suns’ superstar claimed that Booker landed his technical foul only after a member of the Thunder urged they call it.
Devin Booker Rips Game 2 Referees vs OKC Thunder
“It’s definitely something that has to be looked at. I heard (Alex) Caruso tell them to call the tech and he ended up doing it. In my 11 years, I haven’t called a ref out by name, but James (Williams) was terrible tonight, through and through,” Booker told reporters.
“It’s bad for the sport, bad for the integrity of the sport. People are going to start viewing this as the WWE if they’re not held responsible. 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. It’s my first time in 11 years, but it’s needed. Whatever, I get fined for it, everybody can pull the clips and see where the frustration comes from.”
(h/t @ridiculouscage)
The call on Booker came after he attempted to save the ball from going out of bounds by swatting it back. Since it hit a member of the Thunder, players seemingly called for a tech—and they got it.
The Suns Take Another Bad Loss
On top of the frustrations from the technical foul situation, Booker and his Suns are in a tough spot after a disappointing loss against the defending champions.
The Suns were defeated 120-107. They drop to 0-2 on the series.
Booker finished the night with 40 minutes played. He shot 7-14 from the field and 8-10 from the free-throw line to produce 22 points. He also had seven rebounds and four assists.
The Suns and the Thunder will meet for Game 2 in Phoenix, Arizona, on Saturday at 3:30 PM ET.