One day after calling a referee’s performance “terrible,” Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker received a $35,000 fine from the NBA on Thursday for his comments — but he did receive some vindication from the league.
The NBA rescinded the technical foul called against Booker late in the third quarter, announcing it was “improperly assessed.”
After the Suns lost 120-107 to the host Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday, falling behind the defending champions 2-0 in a best-of-seven Western Conference quarterfinal series, Booker expressed his thoughts on the officiating.
“It’s definitely something that has to be looked at,” Booker said postgame. “I heard (Oklahoma City’s Alex) Caruso tell them to call the tech, and he ended up doing it. In my 11 years, I haven’t called a ref out by name, but James (Williams) was terrible tonight.”
He added, “Whatever I get fined for, everybody can pull the clips and see where the frustration comes from.”
NBA executive vice president and head of basketball operations James Jones issued the fine. The accompanying press release also addressed Booker’s allegations, saying, “Following an investigation including multiple interviews and video review, the league found no basis to any claim of bias or misconduct by game officials.”
However, the league went on to state that Booker’s technical foul was overturned.
Booker finished with 22 points and seven rebounds on Wednesday after he had 23 points and six boards in Game 1 on Sunday. In 64 regular-season starts this campaign, he averaged 26.1 points, 6.0 assists and 3.9 rebounds.
In 11 NBA seasons, all with the Suns, Booker has been an All-Star five times. He has career averages of 24.6 points, 5.3 assists and 4.0 rebounds in 737 games (712 starts).
