NBA Accused Of Rigging Playoffs For Oklahoma City Thunder
Some NBA fans are convinced the referees want the Oklahoma City Thunder to advance to the Western Conference finals.
On Tuesday night, Oklahoma City picked up a 108-90 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. Even though LeBron James had an incredibly efficient performance in Game 1, it wasn't enough to power Los Angeles to victory. Of course it doesn't help that Luke Kennard, Austin Reaves and Marcus Smart all struggled from the field.
"I mean obviously the easy thing [to say] is to make more shots," Reaves told reporters. "I got to my spots multiple times and just missed a couple of easy shots. But for the most part, you got to limit the turnovers. They pressure the ball really well, just got to give us an opportunity to get a shot on goal every possession."
While the Lakers blamed their poor shooting for the Game 1 loss, several fans said the refs favored the Thunder. They pointed out a sequence where Jared McCain could've received a flagrant foul for a dangerous closeout on Kennard.
"Thunder don't need the refs to win this. So why are the refs making these calls? Totally ruins the experience," Jason McIntyre of Fox Sports said.
"They just overturned a clear block in OKC's favor even though the call was right on the floor. How can anyone watch this?" one fan wrote on X.
"Should be a flagrant 2 and an ejection but its the OKC w/ refs and Adam Silver being Thunder fans," a second fan commented "The bias is real."
"Thunder defenders can slide late and somehow get foul calls even in slow motion. NBA rigged," a social media user added.
"The NBA is rigged for the Thunder," another fan declared.
Do the refs actually favor the Thunder?
During the first round of the playoffs, Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker said the NBA's officials should be investigated. Those remarks came after the Thunder benefitted from a questionable technical foul.
"It's definitely something that has to be looked at. I heard (Alex) Caruso tell them to call the tech and he ended up doing it. In my 11 years, I haven't called a ref out by name, but James (Williams) was terrible tonight, through and through. 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," Booker told reporters. "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. It's my first time in 11 years but it's needed. Whatever, I get fined for it, everybody can pull the clips and see where the frustration comes from."
Suns forward Dillon Brooks, meanwhile, ripped Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for flopping.
"Like, I used to watch this back when Michael Jordan was playing or whoever else, when LeBron was younger. This is physical basketball," Brooks said. "I don't get why all the dropping and the falling and the flopping and the flailing and all this stuff is allowed when we get to the playoffs. Leave that for the [regular] season for the fans. This is about who's the better team, who's a more with-it team. Don't decide the games on no free throws."
Is it possible the Thunder have benefitted from certain calls? Absolutely. Do we think the NBA wants Oklahoma City to win the Finals again? We're not so sure about that.
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This story was originally published May 6, 2026 at 6:01 AM.