Guard Austin Reaves got in the officials’ faces and gave them a lengthy lecture after Los Angeles fell 125-107 to go behind 2-0 in their Western Conference semifinal series. LeBron James was seen nodding with his colleague as the rest of his teammates gathered around.
The Lakers expressed their displeasure with the refereeing following Thursday night’s Game 2 loss to the Thunder.
Reaves and the Lakers pressing the officiating crew 👀 pic.twitter.com/DpGtVgnUXE
— Shabazz 💫 (@ShowCaseShabazz) May 8, 2026
The Lakers’ issues with the officiating started early. While making a layup in the first quarter, James was seen yelling at an official for failing to call a clear foul.
When James made a shot in the fourth quarter despite being fouled, the referee waived continuation even though it was obvious that the bucket should have been scored. JJ Redick, the coach of the Lakers, was shocked.
Reddick was outspoken about what he considered to be terrible refereeing after the game. He stated:
“They have a few guys that foul on every possession…there was a stretch where four straight possessions our guys got absolutely clobbered,”
“They’re hard enough to play. You’ve gotta be able to just call it if they foul. And they do foul.”
“Well he gets clobbered on that one with Jaylin Williams coming over trying to block the shot when he spun baseline, that was in that stretch as well,”. “LeBron has the worst whistle of any star player I’ve ever seen … he got clobbered again tonight a bunch and that’s not a new thing. He gets fouled a lot and it doesn’t happen.”
In the end, the foul disparity didn’t make much of a difference. Oklahoma City received 21 whistles, while Los Angeles received 26. Additionally, the Thunder made more free throws (26 to 21). For months, fans and opponents have been complaining that the current NBA champions have received far too many calls. The Lakers’ frustration erupted on Thursday night, and they now return to Los Angeles behind 2-0.
