JJ Redick Erupts Over What’s Happening to Lakers Star LeBron James

During the first half of Game 2 against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night at the Paycom Center, the Los Angeles Lakers took the lead heading into halftime and seemed to have some traction toward potentially pulling off the upset against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who was favored by -15.5 coming into this game.

Unfortunately, the defending NBA champion turned things around in the third quarter and never looked back, proving why they are arguably the best team in the league right now.

However, there were quite a few questionable calls made by referees during Game 2, which caused some outrage among fans, Lakers players and head coach JJ Redick after the team went down 2-0 in the series. Redick has been especially frustrated with LeBron James not getting the calls he deserves.

JJ Redick Blasts Referees for Treatment of LeBron James

"LeBron has the worst whistle of any star player I've ever seen."

—JJ Redick on LeBron James not getting foul calls pic.twitter.com/kBbtBhALI1
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 8, 2026

After the loss to the Thunder in Game 2, Redick didn’t hold back when expressing his disappointment in the officiating crew, while also pointing out that superstar LeBron James doesn’t get the calls that he deserves.

“LeBron has the worst whistle of any star player I've ever seen,” Redick said of the treatment of James from the referees. … “He gets clobbered, and he got clobbered again tonight a bunch, and that's not a new thing. That's not specific to this crew or this series. He gets fouled a lot. … A guy gets hit on the head more than any player I've seen on drives, and it rarely gets called.”

Redick specifically pinpointed one point in the game where his team got “absolutely clobbered,” and fouls weren’t called in his team’s favor.

“There was a stretch where four straight possessions, our guys got absolutely clobbered trying to make an entry pass to Jaxson [Hayes], and Jaylin Williams is grabbing his jersey with both arms,” Redick said. “They're hard enough to play. You've got to be able to just call it if they foul, and they do foul.”

The second-year head coach wasn’t the only one fuming during and after Game 2 in Oklahoma City on Thursday night, as veteran guard Austin Reaves was equally as frustrated with the referees and had no problem expressing his discontent with the lack of calls being made.

Austin Reaves was absolutely done with the referees: “That’s some bulls**t for you to talk to me like that. P***y.”

(via @JoelXLorenzi) pic.twitter.com/qRSzzTFqE6
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) May 8, 2026

Reaves, who usually is able to keep his cool and calm demeanor intact, got into it with a referee and had to be pulled away by his teammate. He wasn’t happy with the way the game was being officiated, and he wasn’t alone, obviously, with Redick sharing his thoughts and the team being clearly frustrated after letting an ideal opportunity slip away.

On Saturday, the matchups between these two teams will resume, with the series shifting to Los Angeles. Game 3 and Game 4 will be played at Crypto.com Arena, and there’s a chance there could be some bad blood, with the Lakers being in danger of going down 3-0.

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