Jason Kidd Fined for Calling Out Refs by Name After Mavericks’ Loss to Rockets

Jason Kidd was not pleased with the refs after the Mavs lost to the Rockets and got hit with a fine for sharing his thoughts. | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

The Mavericks lost all three games they played last week but Cooper Flagg gave Dallas plenty of reason for optimism.

The No. 1 pick in the 2025 draft missed a Wednesday loss to the Timberwolves before exploding for 83 points over the next two games against the Hornets and Rockets. Flagg’s 49-point outing against Charlotte was special in many ways but his 34-point showing against Houston two nights later was just as impressive given the Rockets’ elite, physical defense. He nearly pulled a win out of his hat, too; Flagg drove into the lane with a chance to tie the game in the last 30 seconds but missed his layup attempt and the Hornets fell short, 111-107.

Coach Jason Kidd was very unhappy about that final possession because he strongly felt Flagg was fouled on his way to the hoop. He felt strongly enough, in fact, that he called out the referees by name and lambasted their performance as “awful,” and “unacceptable.”

“I saw a foul,” Kidd said when asked about the final possession. “(Referees) Sean, Simone and Jason Goldenberg were awful tonight. The referees were unacceptable. It's a foul, and he needs to be at the free throw line. Now, does he make both? That's up to the player, but the referees did not do their job. They were terrible.”

“We’re fine. We’re going to play. We’re not complaining. But at some point, there’s got to be a review. I understand he drives the ball and gets slapped, that’s a foul. So just being consistent. The referees weren’t consistent.”

Paired with his fiery response to a question about his decision to play Flagg at point guard to begin his rookie season and Kidd put on quite a show during his postgame press conference.

It wound up an expensive one. Monday brought a statement from the NBA announcing Kidd had been fined $35,000 for “public criticism of the officiating and using profane language during a media interview.”

It’s money well-spent for Kidd if his end goal was accomplished— making Flagg feel like he has the backing of his head coach. Kidd went up there to defend his star rookie and was not afraid of the consequences. Something like that means a lot to a young player, and as a former star himself Kidd would know that as well as anybody. To that point Flagg expressed his appreciation for Kidd after the loss.

“I feel like JK has a lot of trust in me, and I have a lot of trust in him," the young star said. “And so, just building that relationship, I feel that we're continuing to grow our bond. That's just having my back.”

He was, however, was more level-headed in his response to the controversial no-call.

“I definitely felt some contact, but at the end of the day, the refs are the ones making the call, so it is what it is," Flagg told reporters. “I mean, it's tough. You just got to play through it. It's part of the game. It's not the first time in my life that I haven't got calls, and it's probably not going to be the last. So whatever it is, just got to keep playing through it.”

This year is all about Flagg in Dallas and it’s going well in that regard. The rookie is averaging nearly 20 points per game and flashing elite NBA potential on a nightly basis now. The fact that the team’s record puts them at 11th place in the West and the reality that the Mavs could end up sellers at the trade deadline this week is immaterial through the Flagg lens.

The Mavs next host the Celtics on Tuesday night in an NBA Finals rematch. It’ll be worth watching to see if Kidd’s words landed with the officiating crew when it comes to Flagg’s whistle.

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