Anthony Edwards was extremely critical of NBA referees after the Timberwolves 106-101 win over the OKC Thunder on the road. The game had incredibly contentious moments with two of the best defenses in the NBA excelling at stopping each other. Due to the low-scoring pace and Edwards going to the line just four times, he let his frustrations take over after the game.
“I don’t know and imma take this fine, but the refs did not give us no calls tonight. We had to play through every bump, every grab. Big shoutout to my team and big shoutout to my coaches.”
“Imma take this fine, but the refs did not give us no calls tonight.”
Anthony Edwards didn’t hold back in his interview after the Timberwolves’ win over the Thunder 😂https://t.co/KeUWZiF5pg
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) January 30, 2024
Edwards was also heard saying ‘cheating ass refs’ while dapping up his teammates after the game.
“Cheating a*s refs!”
Anthony Edwards was FED UP with the officiating in the Timberwolves-Thunder game 😅pic.twitter.com/wnw0beiCFo
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) January 30, 2024
Edwards ended the game with 27 points and was the Wolves’ leading scorer on the night. His frustrations likely result from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander attempting more free throws than the entire Timberwolves team. SGA ended the game with 37 points, making 15 of his 16 free-throw attempts. The Wolves shot 15 free throws as a team, with Edwards being denied a few calls on aggressive drives to the rim.
This is yet another instance of NBA players and coaches becoming more brazen with their criticism of NBA officials. This season has prompted multiple outbursts against officials from different sources, with all those instances ending in fines. Edwards knows he’ll get fined as well, but he needs to let his true feelings be known to the world.
NBA Referees Have Been Criticized Repeatedly This Season
This season has been rough for officials around the league. The NBA office protects referees from public criticism by strictly fining any player or coach that publicly criticizes them, but it seems these players and coaches care less about what the NBA has to say. Officiating is probably the worst it’s been in years and nobody is doing anything to fix it either.
We saw Darko Rajakovic go off on a nuclear rant against referees after controversial referee decisions sunk them to a loss against the Lakers. Mike Brown brought a laptop to a press conference to show video proof of where referees were missing calls during one of their games as well. Even LeBron James has posted on social media about being bloodied up by opposing players and not getting calls.
The NBA officials missed an obvious timeout call in the Blazers’ loss to the Thunder the other day, prompting the franchise to file an official protest after the referees decided to eject Chauncey Billups instead of granting them a timeout. These problems are ruining the enjoyment of the game, especially for fans.
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