Devin Booker blasts referee James Williams after controversial tech, says NBA risks looking like WWE

Following the Suns' defeat to the Thunder on Wednesday, Devin Booker attacked NBA referee James Williams over a confusing technical foul call, claiming that refereeing has grown so awful that spectators would begin to believe they are watching WWE. The Phoenix star wasn't only upset over losing 0–2 to OKC; he was in a really sour mood when he met with the media.

After the Suns' 107-120 loss to the Thunder in Game 2 of their first-round series, Devin Booker was obviously furious with the officials tonight. Speaking to the media following the loss, the Suns guard did not hold back while criticizing the officials for a first-half altercation.

Devin Booker calls out James Williams after controversial technical foul vs Oklahoma City Thunder

Booker dove toward the courtside seats to stop a loose ball from sliding out of bounds with a few minutes remaining in the third quarter. Even the ESPN TV staff was perplexed when the rock struck Thunder forward Jaylin Williams and Book became enraged.
The 29-year-old guard believed that Thunder player Alex Caruso had impacted the decision, and he didn't hold back when he took the microphone. He said:

"In my 11 years [in the NBA], 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 WWE if they're not held responsible."

Booker said, as he called out the official by name:

“It’s definitely something that has to be looked at. I heard 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,”

He then went on to caution the league about public opinion:

“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..”





He continued:

“It’s hard, and 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.”

He finally concluded:

“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.”

Thus, Booker may have become frustrated throughout the first half due to two instances. In the first, Booker's "unnatural move" to make contact with Alex Caruso resulted in an offensive foul call. Booker was obviously upset when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the current MVP, committed nearly the same foul on the other end of the court moments later.

Despite Booker's 22 points, the Suns lost to the Thunder 120-107. On Saturday, they will try to turn things around at home in Game 3. Booker then struck Jalen Williams by accident while attempting to prevent the ball from going out of bounds. Surprisingly, the umpire granted the Thunder guard's request and called the Suns star a technical foul. This appeared so strange to him that he assumed, if he were in the crowd, he would believe it was staged, much like the WWE is said to be.