NBA Breaks Silence on Controversial Play in 76ers vs. Warriors Game
NBA officiating has always been criticized, but that criticism has seemingly reached new heights this year with players, coaches, and fans calling out both referees and the league on almost a nightly basis. One of the biggest complaints this season has been how difficult it is to play defense.
Many feel that the NBA has legislated defense out of the game, which was part of Steve Kerr's rant after Nikola Jokic shot 18 free throws against the Golden State Warriors on Christmas. Kerr's rant was directed at the NBA's rules as opposed to the officials who are enforcing those rules, which has been a major emphasis this season, as many realize the issues with officiating are higher up than the officials themselves.
This dynamic was again on display during Tuesday night's game between the Golden State Warriors and Philadelphia 76ers, when star guard Steph Curry was whistled for a defensive foul against Patrick Beverley:
This controversial call went viral on social media, generating over 2M impressions on X (formerly known as Twitter). The NBA's official referees account responded to this post, sharing a lengthy statement on why the call was correct:
"By rule, this is a defensive foul as Curry is turned sideways (illegal) and moving into the path of Beverly. The contact clearly impedes the progress of Beverly to the basket and was correctly judged as a defensive foul. Beverly is driving to the rim and, by rule, it is the responsibility of the defender to be in a legal guarding position. We are trained to judge the legality of the defender unless the offensive player does something overt or abnormal that would trump a defender that is not in a legal guarding position."
Along with spelling Beverley's last name incorrectly, this explanation from the NBA upset those who believe such an explanation is part of the problem. As Kerr emphasized in his Christmas rant, the issue is not with the referees, but rather the league training them to make such calls.
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