“Never Seen Anything Like That”: LeBron James, Austin Reaves Made Wrong Move Confronting Referees, Says Charles Barkley

May 7, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves (15) talks to an referee John Goble mid court after the end of game two of the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

The Lakers’ head coach was pretty vocal and blunt with his judgment following the 125-107 loss on Thursday. “I sarcastically said the other day, they’re the most disruptive team without fouling,” Redick said. “They’re hard enough to play, you’ve got to be able to just call them if they foul, and they do foul.” JJ also stated that LeBron James had the worst whistle of any player he has ever seen in the league. He was alluding to the fact that the 22x All-Star only went to the free-throw line 5 times in two games to back his point.

There were multiple instances of confrontation between the Lakers and the officials. Redick got a technical for getting in the face aggressively in the second quarter. Meanwhile, Bron and AR were constantly jawing and pleading at the officials as the calls did not go their way. Now, for Game 3, the players should focus on adjusting to the calls and not start complaining again, as per Charles Barkley. And the notion from former players and Hall of Famers remains the same for JJ Redick and his team.

Dirk Nowitzki offers a similar suggestion to Charles Barkley

On the stat sheet, the Lakers were called for 26 fouls in Game 2; the Thunder were called for 21. But LeBron James incorrect charge call on Alex Caruso, not getting a call for a foul for Jaylin Williams’ contact, and not counting his continuation jump shot were some of the calls, especially on Bron, which were missed. But like Charles Barkley said, the officials won’t start course-correcting their foul calls and favor them. Similar advice came from Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki.

“The Lakers are the team that usually always wins the FT battle,” Nowitzki joked on NBA Prime. “This is a little new to them that they’re getting clobbered a lot. But you need to work the refs, you need to reposition yourself for the next game, and I think that’s just part of the playoffs.” JJ Redick and co were in the top three in free throws in the regular season (26.8 attempts per game). But the absence of Luka Doncic, who has attempted 10.1 attempts from the charity stripe, remains a big miss.

Similarly, LeBron James average from 5.3 has come down to 2.5 in the Semifinal round. So, yes, it is difficult for the Lakers to adjust against OKC, who have SGA to bait for fouls. But the Purple and Gold franchise has to adapt and not complain.

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