Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
The Los Angeles Lakers aren’t happy with the state of refereeing in the NBA playoffs, particularly after their Game 2 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Semifinals.
Los Angeles was whistled for 26 fouls in the contest, compared to just 21 against Oklahoma City, and the Thunder shot five more free throws in a 125-107 victory.
Afterward, Lakers head coach JJ Redick voiced his frustration with the officiating. In particular, Redick was not a fan of the way that the refs treated superstar LeBron James.
“LeBron has the worst whistle of any star player I’ve ever seen.”
—JJ Redick on LeBron James not getting foul calls pic.twitter.com/kBbtBhALI1
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 8, 2026
JJ Redick Claims LeBron James Gets The Worst Whistle In The NBA
“I sarcastically said the other day, they’re the most disruptive team without fouling,” Redick said after the game of the way the Thunder play defense. “I mean, they have a few guys that foul on every possession. … They’re hard enough to play. They’re hard enough to play, you’ve got to be able to just call them if they foul, and they do foul.”
More specifically, Redick said that James, despite his stature in the league, does not get the calls that he should.
“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 theatric, they 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.”
Listen. Do referees probably miss calls on LeBron James simply because of how big and strong he is? Yes, of course.
But James is also more than happy to ham it up for the sake of drawing a call against his opponent, and he’s notorious for doing so. So, to claim he has the worst whistle of any star in the league is ridiculous, especially in a world where Tyrese Maxey exists.
Do better, JJ Redick.