Devin Booker Blasted the Refs and the NBA Just Made It Worse: $35,000 Fine But They Killed the Tech

The NBA came down hard on Devin Booker for going off on the officials after the Suns' 120-107 loss to Oklahoma City in Game 2 of their first-round series, hitting him with a $35,000 fine. But here's the twist: the league also admitted the technical foul that got called on him in the third quarter was "improperly assessed" and rescinded it. So yeah, they fined him for complaining about bad calls... and then basically agreed one of those calls was bad.

What Booker Actually Said (and Why It Matters)

Booker didn't hold back after Wednesday's loss. He singled out referee James Williams, saying he was "terrible tonight through and through." But Booker's frustration wasn't just about one game. He went deeper, talking about respect and the integrity of the sport itself.

"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," Booker said. "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 to get to this point to be treated like that, for me to even be saying something out loud, it's bad."

The Thunder's 2-0 series lead made the loss sting even harder.

The Tech That Shouldn't Have Been

The rescinded technical foul is the real story here. Booker was particularly fired up about it because, as he said, he "never received an explanation for why it was assessed." The league's decision to rescind it on Thursday essentially confirmed his complaint had merit. You can't fine a guy for calling out bad officiating and then agree that one of those calls was actually bad. That's the kind of contradictory move that makes fans and players shake their heads.

The NBA's statement said they found "no basis to any claim of bias or misconduct by game officials," but rescinding the technical tells a different story.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.