Game 2 on Thursday night left the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Los Angeles Lakers with a desire for more calls in their favor from the officials. But the reaction inside the Paycom Center was completely different as the away team, led by Austin Reaves, surrounded the referee after the final whistle. It could have led to a fine, but the NBA Senior Vice President of Referee Development viewed this drama differently.
“I do think that had a look to it, but there wasn’t a ton of profanity or anything like that. It was out of the ordinary, there’s no doubt about that,” Monty McCutchen told ESPN. “Austin [Reaves] was in control, John [Goble] did a good job of letting him hear his peace. There were a couple of plays at the end of that game that lived on the nuances of our rules. I can understand in the passion of that moment the disagreement from a team. If there is meaningful conversation after, and it’s not out of control, and in this situation it was not, we want to make sure on our end we are not defensive and willing to listen.”
The NBA Senior Vice President of Referee Development also described that the officiating crew can make mistakes. “Referees are not perfect this time of the year, and every championship run involves overcoming mistakes by the referees.” He did not have a problem with multiple players, including guys off the bench, huddled around the refs at midcourt, because the two main people, Austin Reaves and official John Goble, had a very civil conversation. This backs what the Lakers’ star guard had said previously.
During the jump ball between Austin Reaves and Cason Wallace, the former tried to change his position to guard the latter. Since multiple players were constantly moving, it became difficult for the ref to take control of this situation. But Goble addressed AR, which the Lakers guard called disrespectful and which didn’t sit well with him. After the game, the 27-year-old detailed what transpired and his reasoning for his actions.
Monty McCutchen on the Austin Reaves/Lakers situation with John Goble after Game 2:
“We teach our officials to go to center court so we’re not leaving at the same time when emotions can run high. Most certainly, we want interactions to be professional there, I do think that had… https://t.co/m8AOrNPvaQ
— Brett Siegel (@BrettSiegelNBA) May 10, 2026
“I felt like I was respectful to all of them all night. A million times in the past, I’ve said way worse stuff. And when we were doing the whole tip ball and they were switching spots, I wanted to get on the other side because they had a guy on the other side, was just trying to keep an advantage. And he turned around and yelled in my face…I just thought it was disrespectful.” This was also the culmination of how the Lakers felt after not getting the whistle in their favor.
Head coach JJ Redick got a technical foul in the second frame for aggressively charging at an official during a timeout. LeBron James aired his grievances multiple times after sustaining enough punishment from the Thunder players. Speaking about the unfavorable calls, the 22x All-Star took a smart approach of avoiding any angry rants or blaming the referees. That’s simply because public outbursts of officiating typically result in fines. That’s why the group complaining to the officials we have seen before. But the Lakers’ post-Game 2 swarm was on another level, which even McCutchen acknowledged.
The league has handed out fines before, like the Mavericks in the 2022 playoffs. The Mavericks paid a total of $175,000 for multiple, escalating violations of team bench decorum rules. So, the current rules are in place to avoid players crowding officials and to precisely stop the kinds of pile-ons that transpired after the horn in Game 2. While the Lakers were complaining, OKC players found it amusing from across the court.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander jokingly wanted a meeting similar to Austin Reaves
Senior NBA reporter Sam Amick was courtside at Paycom Center and revealed that the media seats gave him the best view of the entire officiating drama. He “heard every single word,” including the NSFW comments from Austin Reaves. But that was not his favorite part. “My favorite part was the Thunder were watching all the Lakers around the refs and having a little bit of FOMO, clearly,” Amick said on Run It Back. “And then Shai, I could hear him. He looks at, I think, Ben Taylor, and he kind of shouts,’ Hey, Ben, can we get a meeting too?’” He called the entire drama “crazy”.
That moment summed up the night’s atmosphere: both teams disagreed with the whistle, even if the Lakers were the louder side after the game. But OKC left those feelings as the final whistle was called. Since McCutchen, NBA Senior Vice President of Referee Development, doesn’t view the incident as an infringement, there might be no or less trouble for the Lakers.
