Devin Booker singled out NBA referee James Williams on Wednesday after the Phoenix Suns fell to 0-2 in their first-round series against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Booker was upset with Williams over a controversial sequence late in the third quarter of Game 2 at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Okla. The Suns trailed 93-75 with about two minutes left when Booker was called for a technical foul.
The Suns All-Star looked in utter disbelief over the ruling, which didn’t help his team at all while on the comeback trail. Even the ESPN broadcast was perplexed at what the technical foul was for, as Booker was seemingly being penalized for trying to save the ball from going out of bounds.
Devin Booker receives a technical foul trying to save the ball from going out of bounds. 😳🤔
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) April 23, 2026
(h/t @ridiculouscage)
pic.twitter.com/4xnQpT8qWX
The Suns fought back in the fourth quarter to get within 10, but did not get any closer in the 120-107 Thunder win.
Booker did not hold back his criticism after the game. He called out referee James Williams by name and accused him of calling a technical foul because Thunder guard Alex Caruso asked him to.
“In my 11 years, I haven’t called a ref out by name, but James [Williams] was terrible tonight, through and through,” Booker said during his postgame press conference. “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.”
“… 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.”
Booker challenged anyone questioning his stance to “pull the clips and see where the frustration comes from.” He said he would willingly pay the fine to get his feelings across.
The NBA did hit Booker with a $35,000 fine on Thursday for “public criticism of the officiating.” The league looked into the matter through interviews and video replays and “found no basis to any claim” Booker made.
