What is going on with the basketball officials? It’s a question that has been haunting the minds of the NBA world lately. Due to a series of shocking calls made by the refs, NBA fans have been speculating about their ability to make the right decision during the games. After Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James had a major breakdown in front of the entire world, the refs have yet again become the cause of fans’ frustration following the recent game between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
NBA refs were harshly criticized for missing a foul call during the LA Lakers vs Boston Celtics game. King James went down on his knees when Jayson Tatum fouled him in the last few seconds of the fourth quarter, thus, sending the game to overtime. What seemed like a winning game for the Lakers ended with their doom when the foul was ‘overlooked’ by the officials.
Ref call saga strikes again after ‘LeBron James’ foul decision
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On Tuesday night, the LA Clippers went up against the OKC Thunder only to end up losing the game after having dealt with some on-court shocks. The game had progressed into the second quarter when Kawhi Leonard went for a layup shot. While making the shot, Leonard got fouled by Thunder’s Aaron Wiggins, a move for which no call was made. The ref hit frustrated Leonard with tech when he expressed his displeasure.
Kawhi gets a tech and Terance Mann is ejected after words with ref 😳 pic.twitter.com/6Bkt9Ukg38
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 22, 2023
To make matters worse, Terance Mann got hit with a back-to-back tech resulting in his ejection for arguing with the same ref. In a rare occurrence, all three techs were called in just a span of four seconds.
The incident occurred less than two months after the infamous missed call that led to the Celtics’ victory over the Lakers. Fans were visibly left upset by the outcome prompting them to call out the officials for making ‘wrong’ decisions.
Twitterati slams the refs for making ‘unfair’ call
The continuity of such occurrences resulted in the fans’ displeasure toward the basketball officials. Comments against the refs soon came pouring in after Terance Mann’s ejection from the game. One fan blamed the officials for making ‘NBA intolerable to watch’.
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Whereas, another fan accused them of letting their ‘personal emotions’ affect their decision. Their comment read, “Refs should not be able to make such a big call based on emotion. This ref was obviously upset.” Take a look at a few more of the tweets.
The refs have made the NBA intolerable to watch
— Jordan Ortega (@Jordan23Ortega) March 22, 2023
Refs should not be able to make such a big call based on emotion. This ref was obviously upset. If it’s a foul, call it. If it’s a tech, call it. But don’t eject someone because you got your feeling hurt.
— AXM (@10_9XM) March 22, 2023
Fine the refs. Launch a whole investigation. This is the new norm and it’s wild
— Johnathan Ontiveros (@John8Ten) March 22, 2023
@nba fire all your refs
— strategy(demko for vezina) (@2trat3gy) March 22, 2023
These refs think they the main character
— nathanseliteworld (@nathansGworld) March 22, 2023
This season the officiating at the @NBA is really bad, problem is the Referees are so inconsistent with their calls that the players, coaches and even the fans could no longer control themselves and complain about it. Adam Silver should really do something as its getting ugly.
— Nardy Madrasto (@NardyM) March 22, 2023
Additionally, fans also defended Leonard and reasoned that the 2x NBA champion would never get worked up without a good reason.
Kawhi don’t talk for NOTHING, so if he’s complaining it’s for a reason!
— 🤍’ (@Heavenlybuckets) March 22, 2023
you know you missed a call when kawhi shows any type of emotion or reaction
— CantGuardBook (@CGBBURNER) March 22, 2023
you're automatically wrong if you give Kawhi a tech
— ✝️ ⓜⓐⓣⓔⓡ ✝️ (@MahomesBetta) March 22, 2023
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Kawhi getting techs? yeah these refs out of control
— Nicoló🇻🇦 (@Pirlo_Prop) March 22, 2023
Imagine giving Kawhi a tech this ref should never be allowed back on an NBA court again
— Tyler Williams (@ty_williams_15) March 22, 2023
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Led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the OKC Thunder defeated the Clippers by just a one-point difference. Leonard dropped 21 points in the losing game. Whereas, Gilgeous-Alexander scored game-high 31 points.