May 7, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick yells to his team during a play against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first half during game two of the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick did not hold back on criticizing the officiating following a 125-107 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals.
Redick expressed frustration over star LeBron James enduring what he considers consistent physical play from the Thunder. He noted that James, a four-time NBA MVP and 22-time All-Star, has only attempted five free throws across the first two games of the best-of-seven series.
“LeBron has the worst whistle of any star player I’ve ever seen,” Redick said. “I mean, I’ve been with him two years now. The smaller guys, because they can be theatrical, typically draw more fouls, and the bigger players that are built like LeBron, it’s hard for them. He gets clobbered. He got clobbered again tonight a bunch. And that’s not like a new thing. That’s not specific to this crew or this series. He gets fouled a lot, and it doesn’t get called. The guy gets hit on the head more than any player I’ve seen on drives, and it rarely gets called.”
While James opted for a low-key response after the game—simply saying, “We’re down 2-0” when asked about the officiating—Lakers guard Austin Reaves confronted crew chief John Goble at midcourt following the contest.
Reaves took issue with Goble losing his composure during a jump-ball situation with 5:53 remaining in the fourth quarter.
“I felt like I was respectful to all of them all night. I mean, there’s a million times in the past I’ve said way worse stuff,” Reaves said. “And when we were doing the whole jump ball when (the Thunder players) 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 (Goble) turned around and just yelled in my face. I just thought it was disrespectful. At the end of the day, we’re grown men. And I just didn’t feel like he needed to yell in my face like that. I told him that. I wasn’t disrespectful. I told him if I did that to him first, I would have got a tech. I feel like the only reason I didn’t get a tech is because he knew he was in the wrong. So, yeah, I just felt disrespected.”
Reaves scored 31 points, and James added 23 on Thursday for the Lakers, who will host Game 3 on Saturday.
