Referee Channels Michael Jordan by Shrugging Off Booing Fans After Unsuccessful Challenge

Tony Brothers seemed to welcome Thunder fans' wrath.

It is little surprise that in decades of creating individual stars—maybe more individual stars than any other American sports league—the NBA has inadvertently created some individual officiating stars as well.

Indeed, over the course of three decades, referees like Tony Brothers, Joey Crawford and Scott Foster have risen to a level of notoriety that rivals some of the league's players—for good or for ill.

That notoriety is the reason a referee like Brothers, for instance, can get away with what he did after an unsuccessful challenge during Saturday's game between the Orlando Magic and Oklahoma City Thunder.

Booed mercilessly by the Paycom Center crowd after announcing the Thunder had lost a challenge, Brothers simply grinned and shrugged in the direction of TV cameras a la Hall of Fame guard Michael Jordan.

Here it is visually lmao https://t.co/wDbQDLzAvV pic.twitter.com/9s6D1HF0Kh

— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) January 14, 2024

Considering Brothers has been around long enough to have refereed Jordan—the Norfolk, Va. native began his career during the 1995 season—it seems evident that he's earned the right to let loose once in a blue moon.

Oklahoma City fans, naturally, may disagree.