Complaints about the officiating have been the norm in playoff series involving the Oklahoma City Thunder over the last year or so, and that’s been the case in the Western Conference Finals against the San Antonio Spurs as well. The notion that the officials are helping the Thunder has gotten more popular in this series, and The Ringer’s Max Kellerman expressed his frustrations on his Game Over podcast.
“This is what’s going on, and this is all on video,” Kellerman said, via NBA Courtside. “Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander] is flopping on every possession. He’s flopping on every possession; it’s ridiculous. [Isaiah] Hartenstein and Chet [Holmgren] are fouling [Victor Wembanyama] all the time… Who was the OKC player who flopped when they waived off the three? [Dylan] Harper hit a three, and someone totally flopped. It’s obvious, it’s in front of the ref, and the ref waives off the three.”
Kellerman was referring to a play in the second quarter of Game 2. Thunder guard Isaiah Joe quite blatantly flopped as he looked to get past a screening Harrison Barnes, but the officials called a foul, negating a three-pointer from Julian Champagnie.
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This was atrocious. The Spurs had already gotten two challenges right in this game, which meant they couldn’t contest any more calls. Kellerman thinks one of three things is in play with these officials.
“Either the refs are very bad at their jobs, and they keep missing everything,” Kellerman said. “I find that hard to believe because the refs are good at their jobs. That’s why they got to be NBA refs. And because it’s happening in front of everybody. Everyone can see the flopping. Everyone can see Shai trying to sell the calls. Everyone can see what Hartenstein and what Chet are doing to Wemby.
“So they’re either bad at their jobs and can be easily fooled, which means that they are bad referees and they shouldn’t be reffing,” Kellerman continued. “Or the league is sending them messages, ‘Hey, let people do this,’ which is bad on the league. I’m just going through the possible options. Let certain things slide. Or the refs are making that decision on their own, which is also bad. Those are three options.
“The refs don’t have to hear from the league,” Kellerman added. “They’re just like, okay, we’re gonna let them do. Wemby’s too impossible to contain. We’ll let him get away with this on Wemby. Hey, this is what Shai does. We’ll give him the whistle.”
While that foul call on Barnes was bad, Spurs fans were more enraged by how Isaiah Hartenstein was allowed to hold Victor Wembanyama. He even pulled Stephon Castle by the hair and got away with it.
“The real problem is Hartenstein is getting away with vet moves on Wemby,” Kellerman said. “I’m not mad at Hartenstein. If they’re gonna let him do it, he should be doing it. If he’s able to hold Wemby and everyone sees this, he’s doing it with two hands… There’s physicality, that’s fine. But if you hold a dude like this, so he can’t move in plain view of the ref? But I’m not mad at Hartenstein… But Chet is something else.
“Chet steps on Wemby’s foot, obviously intentionally,” Kellerman continued. “… It’s dangerous… You could affect the dude’s career by that.”
Here is the incident that has Kellerman up in arms.
Chet Holmgren had to step on Victor Wembanyama foot to prevent him from getting an offensive rebound during a free throw 😭 pic.twitter.com/Hmk32tFXw7
— Fullcourtpass (@Fullcourtpass) May 20, 2026
Co-host Rich Paul wondered whether Chet Holmgren accidentally stepped on Wembanyama’s foot, but Kellerman is certain he didn’t.
“This dude is a highly coordinated athlete,” Kellerman said. “He’s so uncoordinated, he puts his foot right on Wemby’s foot, feels his foot’s on Wemby’s foot, and then keeps it there with force?”
That wasn’t a good look. As for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and flopping, a new report showed that no one has fallen to the floor at a higher rate than him in these playoffs.
Championship teams tend not to be liked too much, but you struggle to imagine the last time we saw a group so disliked by the average NBA fan. Almost every neutral is rooting for the Spurs.
