Suns Owner Mat Ishbia, Devin Booker Slam Referees After Some Very Questionable Calls vs. Thunder

The Thunder beat the Suns on Wednesday to take care of business and go up 2–0 in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. The defending champions got 37 points and nine assists from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and, as some people might suggest is usual, a little help from the officials.

Phoenix’s Devin Booker was on the wrong end of a few questionable calls during the game that left the announcers confused. Doris Burke in particular was left searching for answers on multiple occasions. The first one came in the second quarter when Booker was called for an offensive foul that was upheld on review because it was deemed an “unnatural move.”

Devin Booker steals the ball and then gets called for the offensive foul on the shot attempt, his as he hits Alex Caruso in the face (with replays).

The Suns' challenge was not successful, and Doris Burke is unhappy about the decision. pic.twitter.com/tqE2t2ja7d
— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) April 23, 2026

Then in the third quarer Booker was called for a technical foul that was called under such unusual circumstances that absolutely no one knew what was going on. The technical call was so out of nowhere that Jaylin Williams protested thinking it had been called on him. Upon watching the replay you can see that Booker hit Williams with the ball, but it looked like he was trying to save it while falling out of bounds after he was fouled. And Alex Caruso appeared to be the one to convince the officials to call the technical.

Booker was asked about the technical foul after the game and did not hold back, calling one referee, James Williams, out by name.

Whoa.... Devin Booker just WENT OFF on the NBA refs right now in the post game press conference:

"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,… pic.twitter.com/lfc7UBBue5
— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) April 23, 2026

“It’s definitely something that has to be looked into. I heard Caruso tell them to call the tech and he ended up doing it so,” said Booker. “That’s one ref ... In my 11 years, I haven’t called a ref out by name, but James 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.”

Asked about the offensive foul against Caruso, Booker encouraged people to watch the tape: “If that's an unnatural shooting motion compared to what guys are doing to get fouls nowadays, like, you can play them side-by-side. I’ll let you guys be the judge. Pull the clips. Run it back. I'm surprised this is happening on national TV in playoff games.”

Booker was not alone in criticizing the officiating after the game, as Dillon Brooks basically asked: what happened to the game I love?

"Little frail. That's what the refs are going to call. I got to be smarter about it, but this is the playoffs, a man's game."

Dillon Brooks on defending Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

"When I used to watch this back when Michael Jordan was playing, or whoever else, when LeBron… pic.twitter.com/Zz4XrpK340
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) April 23, 2026

“You know, this is the playoffs. It’s a man's game,” said Brooks. “I used to watch this back when Michael Jordan was playing, or whoever else. When LeBron was younger, it was physical basketball. I don't get why all the dropping, falling, the flopping and flailing and all this stuff is allowed when we get to the playoffs. Leave that for the season, for the fans. This is about who is the better team, who is the more winning team. Don't decide the games on free throws.

“Maybe I got to look back at it and see it they’re really fouls, but all I know is when I’d be watching or when I was out for the playoffs or I’ve been in the playoffs or I’d be watching from before I was in the NBA, it was straight physical. It’s straight low scoring, physical basketball and you got to score the basketball to win or get stops to win. Not this flailing and going to the line and stoppage of play. Like, gotta fix that.”

Brooks should escape a fine since he didn't technically call out the referees, but Booker will most definitely get a call from the league office after criticizing one official in particular. They just have to do it out of principle even if everyone watching the game on ESPN heard the announcers asking the same questions the Suns were after the game.

Suns owner Mat Ishbia calls for referees to be held “accountable”

The day after the loss, Booker got a public message of support from his boss.

On Thursday afternoon, Suns owner Mat Ishbia chimed in on the situation and declared he is “100% behind” his star player’s criticism of the officiating. Ishbia went further and demanded the NBA be “more aggressive” about holding referees accountable when they are “missing calls and clearly disrespecting the players, almost mocking them.”

“I am 100% behind Devin Booker here,” Ishbia said on social media. “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. If the referees are going to demand respect from the players - as they should - then the players should demand respect from the referees. When a referee is missing calls and clearly disrespecting the players, almost mocking them, they must be held accountable. 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.”

It’s not unusual to see players rip refs after a playoff game. It’s quite unusual to see an owner do the same thing. This will get the notice of the league office, that’s for sure.

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