NBA fines Suns’ Booker $35K for criticizing officials, rescinds technical foul
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The NBA on Thursday issued a $35,000 fine to Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker for outspoken remarks about the officiating crew that worked the Suns’ 120-107 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series on Wednesday night.
In a statement, the league said it found “no basis to any claim of bias or misconduct by game officials.”
Booker’s postgame comments targeted referee James Williams, whom he called “terrible tonight through and through,” adding that questionable calls were “bad for the sport, bad for the integrity of the sport.” The defeat put Phoenix in a 2-0 series hole.
Along with the fine, the NBA overturned a technical foul assessed to Booker in the third quarter, ruling that the call was “improperly assessed.” The technical was whistled by referee JB DeRosa after Booker saved the ball from going out of bounds and fired a pass that struck Thunder forward Jaylin Williams. Williams was penalized for bumping Booker on the play, which knocked the guard out of bounds, while Oklahoma City’s Alex Caruso urged officials to issue the technical before it was signaled.
Booker acknowledged Wednesday that he expected a league penalty for his criticism. “Whatever I get fined for it, everybody can pull the clips and see where the frustration is from,” he said. The 27-year-old is in his 11th NBA season and has yet to win a championship.
Source: ESPN
