If anyone thought the officiating fiasco of the NBA was over with the end of the regular season, you couldn’t be more wrong. If anything, players and teams arguing with refs have increased in frequency. The Game 2s of tonight saw Philly getting quite upset with the officials’ hesitance in calling fouls. And later, the Lakers were extra chirpy. For obvious reasons, of course. But among them, LeBron James was the most vocal with his criticism.

He took particularly great offense with the overturned foul call, including D’Angelo Russell and Denver’s Michael Porter Jr. What looked like a hit across D’Lo’s face by Porter, turned out to be “marginal contact” by the officials after the replay. Stumped, shocked, and thoroughly enraged could be James’ middle name as he minced no words about what he thought about the officiating.

ESPN’s McMenamin tweeted his exact comment. “What the f— do we have a replay center for if it’s going to go [like that]. It doesn’t make sense to me.”

LeBron James full comments on the officiating: "I don't understand what's going on in the replay center, to be honest. … D-Lo clearly gets hit in the face on a drive. What the f— do we have a replay center for if it's going to go [like that]. It doesn't make sense to me." 1/2

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) April 23, 2024

The Purple & Gold looked slated to tie the series with a Game 2 victory. Everyone on the team was locked in and the result was a 20-point lead going into the second half. But what they saw after was the Nuggets chopping down the numbers until what was once a stream dwindled into a trickle. Add this to the supposedly poor officiating and pretty much everyone lost their cool.

Although Russell didn’t go on a rant, he mentioned that there were questionable calls. He was, however, a little more direct on his X account. “That’s a foul we all saw it on national television.” Darvin Ham, for his part, decided to take strength from all the things that led to the loss and sent out a warning.

“It stings. Remember this feeling as we take it back home to LA. We got to give them that same feeling in Game 3,” Coach Ham promised. In the wake of such comments and calling out of the NBA officials, there is a chance of these fine men getting a penalty of at least $35,000. After all, that’s the standard amount in these situations, is it not?

This season has been one of fines, courtesy of the criticism of NBA officials

Whether the Lakers trio would incur a penalty is yet to be seen, there have been more than enough incidents this season to consider the real possibility of such a scenario. The more recent ones you would probably remember are Paul George and Anthony Edwards.

If Draymond Green is famous for his suspensions, PG is just as famous for getting penalized. The latest in his series was during the rough stretch of LA’s six-game losing streak, following the arrival of James Harden. Hilariously enough, he received a $35k fine in the Clippers’ loss to Denver. George’s previous incidents were on Feb. 2020 and March 2021 ($35k). Go a little back in his career and we can find his pockets get $25,000 and $10,000 lighter.

With Edwards, nothing is little. The swagger Wolves superstar also has a reputation for being hot-headed. And it has often got him in trouble. After a dominant battle against OKC on Jan. 29th, ‘The Ant’ left the arena mad. But not before the camera caught him saying, “cheating a** refs.” He didn’t stop there. Post-game presser saw him call out the officials in a fiery fashion.

Edwards knew what was coming and in less than 48 hours, the league sent him a memo for $40,ooo. It was the largest fine of the season. But that wasn’t a big deal for him, as he had already been slapped with a $50k fine just last August. That was for reckless behavior, though. No officials anywhere in sight, but two bystanders did get hit with a chair following the Wolves’ Game 5 loss to, who else but the Nuggets.

Going back to the Lakers, they still have a chance at turning the tide. Denver will need two more wins to sweep the series, but LeBron James and Co. very well have the option to deny them that chance. But the Nuggets are the champions for a reason.