NBA Admits Massive Mistake in Warriors vs Thunder Game

This was a huge mistake by the NBA referees.

It feels like the Golden State Warriors have been at the center of many NBA mistakes this season. Sometimes, it hurts them as it did against the Boston Celtics, and sometimes it benefits them like what happened against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night.

In a crucial fourth-quarter moment, Jalen Williams was trying to check into the game at the scorer's table. For some reason, the NBA referees didn't see this happen. As a result, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault received a technical foul when it was only a six-point game with 5:52 left.

Mark Daigneault erupted on the officials for not letting the Thunder get their sub in after the Warriors scored, and then got hit with a technical foul for it.pic.twitter.com/K6L8Gv0y23

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 5, 2023

It turns out the NBA referees completely blew this moment and apologized for it after the game.

"We did not recognize that Jalen Williams was at the scorer’s table when the ball went out of bounds," NBA crew chief Courtney Kirkland said. "He should have been allowed to come into the game, but we did not recognize that he was there. It was our error."

It's great that the referees apologized for this, but it's just another moment in the long laundry list of moments illustrating how bad the referees have been this season. Players and coaches are reacting to the referees making mistakes, but then get technical fouls for it. If a referee is allowed to mess up, then players should be allowed to have some level of reaction. Especially, if games are going to be called like this.

Fortunately for the Golden State Warriors, this missed moment benefitted them.

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