Mat Ishbia Defends Devin Booker’s Allegations of Referee Favoritism Towards OKC in Game 2

Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker was assessed a technical foul in the third quarter for tossing the ball at an opponent.

Mat Ishbia Defends Devin Booker’s Allegations of Referee Favoritism Towards OKC in Game 2

Mat Ishbia and Devin Booker (Image via FirstSportz)

In Short
  • Mat Ishbia supports Devin Booker’s claims of biased officiating in the Suns' loss to the Thunder.
  • Devin Booker was fined $35,000 for criticizing the officiating, while Dillon Brooks escaped punishment.
  • The NBA rescinded Booker's technical foul, raising questions about the officiating standards in the game.

In this past offseason, Mat Ishbia made it clear that his Phoenix Suns are going to focus on building around Devin Booker after the Kevin Durant experiment backfired immensely.

At a time when many thought that the franchise would focus on working on their chemistry and schemes under new head coach Jordan Ott, they have managed to surprise everyone.

Sure, the Suns are a couple of years away from truly becoming championship contenders, but no one can say that a player, or his teammates, cannot at least give it a try.

In the first game, Dillon Brooks‘ antics were labeled as the reason for the Suns’ loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. In Game 2, the Canadian contained himself and performed. But they still lost.

The forward was livid after the game, blaming the lopsided officiating. His running mate was also not far off, calling out lead official James Williams for giving him a technical just because the Thunder’s Alex Caruso pointed it out.

I am 100% behind Devin Booker here. Last night was not a good look for our league. Let me be clear, we didn’t lose because of officiating, but that doesn’t make last night any less important… Nobody who loves this game enjoyed watching that last night. They want to see the players compete at the highest level. The league needs be far more aggressive about this kind of thing. All players and all fans deserve it.

Mat Ishbia wrote on X

This was the billionaire defending his players and also letting the NBA know that he was not happy with the lopsided officiating. Mat Ishbia was essentially channeling whatever fans, analysts, and the media have been saying about the Thunder’s officiating bias.

NBA fines Devin Booker $35K for criticizing officials

While Mat Ishbia made it clear that he wants the NBA to fix its officiating, the league did not agree with that notion. They proceeded to fine Devin Booker for his criticisms during the post-game press conference.

Devin Booker and referee James Williams arguing
Devin Booker and referee James Williams arguing (Image via Clutch Points/X)

Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker has been fined $35,000 for public criticism of the officiating… Following an investigation including multiple interviews and video review, the league found no basis to any claim of bias or misconduct by game officials.

NBA Communications stated

The league has not chosen to fine Dillon Brooks, as his criticism was more about the flailing and flopping the Oklahoma City Thunder were using to get foul calls.

Since his opinions were not a direct shot at officials, he escaped a reprimand. But the league did try to dampen the situation by rescinding the technical foul assessed to Devin Booker. It so happens that it was James Williams who slapped the five-time All-Star with the foul.

Former players claim referee who slapped Devin Booker criticized wore Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s shoes

The NBA rescinding the very technical foul assessed by James Williams directly contradicts the reason they fined Devin Booker. Already, there are enough complaints from several quarters on how the Oklahoma City Thunder are being officiated.

The same ref that’s wearing the SGA sneakers, though… He has the ones you can’t even order online.

Rashad McCants said on Gil’s Arena

The former Minnesota Timberwolves’ star’s colleagues argued that there was no logo. Therefore, Williams was okay to wear those. But Rashad McCants pointed out how it was wrong to wear the sneaker of a player who is involved in the game.

The NBA has had some controversial situations involving officials in the past that still haunt some of the best in the business to this day. The last thing the league needs, amidst growing interest in the game, is to have such allegations being tossed around.

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