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• Updated Mar 23, 2026 at 11:56pm

Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images

Sixers head coach, Nick Nurse

Head coach Nick Nurse won over fans by having a memorable rant to NBA officials about favoring the Oklahoma City Thunder. It is rare that an NBA coach gets love for a live game moment, but Nurse lost his cool and played into the narrative that the Thunder get preferential treatment from the referees. Oklahoma City scored a decisive 123-103 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers to make it a frustrating night for Nurse already.

Fans enjoyed Nurse loudly screaming at referees to acknowledge that the Thunder can get called for fouls too. “They are not perfect. They are not perfect. They foul too! They foul too, though,” Nurse said with full rage and disgust at how he felt the game was being officiated.

Social media fans chimed in with the following responses:

“Every OKC game is like this. It’s nothing new, manufactured Champs for a reason.” – @MadSixth

“I’d hate to be a ref in the NBA and be instructed to Rig games for OKC.” – @PatrickWCutler

“He’s not wrong statistically. OKC leads the league in deflections but also in fouls not called relative to their aggression. Nurse is just trying to balance the whistle.” – @thaGuyQriix

“okc getting the superstar whistle while being the 1 seed is peak nba officiating. they dont even need the help.” – @evilcassieroll

Social media clips of this rant went viral to show that fans enjoyed seeing a coach share the sentiment many feel about Oklahoma City games. Officials have received a lot of criticism this year for how they are calling the game in general.

Why NBA Fans Hate OKC’s Whistle

Oklahoma City gets a lot of criticism from fans for both receiving advantages of getting iffy foul calls in their favor offensively and getting away with more physical defense. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is often called the biggest foul-baiter in the NBA since he knows how to get foul calls for easy free throws.

The defensive advantage is often what angers fans and opposing teams the most. Defenders like Alex Caruso, Lu Dort, and Chet Holmgren love playing physical defense as part of the Thunder’s identity. It often appears that the league allows them to get away with plays that would be called fouls against Gilgeous-Alexander.

Teams complain that they get fouls called on them for physical defense on Shai, but the opposing team can do the same thing to their players. Regardless, Oklahoma City remains the clear top team in the league and a strong favorite.

Why Referees May Favor OKC Thunder

The idea of favorable officiating typically ties into superstar treatment, for players like Michael Jordan, or for a popular team like the Los Angeles Lakers. Another scenario often sees great teams getting the benefit of the doubt for their greatness.

Oklahoma City is in their third consecutive season of having the best regular season record and are the defending NBA Champions. This respect often lets teams get away with more than the opponent will. Gilgeous-Alexander also gets superstar treatment as an MVP who drives into the lane for contact quite often.