Suns’ Royce O’Neale calls for refs to be fair before Thunder Game 3

Apr 24, 2026 - 23:00
Suns’ Royce O’Neale calls for refs to be fair before Thunder Game 3

The Phoenix Suns are down 2-0 in their series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, and you can tell that Game 2 had them livid. If anything, it was more about the officiating, as there were several questionable calls that were in the Thunder’s favor. After the game, Devin Booker and Dillon Brooks called out the refs, and others thought they were justified in their comments.

As Game 3 approaches, their teammates are sharing the same sentiments, one of which includes Royce O’Neal when asked about the officiating.

“I think if you’re gonna call it one way, you gotta call it both ways, or just let us play… It can’t be one-sided,” O’Neale said via Arizona Sports.

Booker called out a referee by name after Game 2, and of course, he was fined $35,000 for his comments.

“In my 11 years, I haven’t called a ref out by name, but James [Williams] was terrible tonight through and through,” Booker said. “It’s bad for the sport, bad for the integrity of the sport. People are going to start viewing this as a WWE if they’re not held responsible.

“It just feels disrespectful. I know I haven’t won a championship in this league, but I have been in it for 11 years now. So to get to this point to be treated like that, for me to even be saying something out loud, it’s bad.”

Brooks later joined in on talking about the officiating, but he focused his comments toward the Thunder.

“This is physical basketball. I don’t get why all the dropping and the falling and the flopping and the flailing and all this stuff is allowed when we get to the playoffs,” Brooks said. “Leave that for the [regular] season for the fans. This is about who’s the better team, who’s a more with-it team. Don’t decide the games on no free throws.”

The post Suns’ Royce O’Neale calls for refs to be fair before Thunder Game 3 appeared first on ClutchPoints.

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