Frustration spilled over in Oklahoma City after the Los Angeles Lakers fell 125-107 to the OKC Thunder on Thursday. JJ Redick did not hide it either. “LeBron has the worst whistle of any star player I’ve ever seen,” he said, arguing the veteran deserved far more calls. But in today’s NBA, every fan base insists its superstar gets the worst whistle. And right on cue, Draymond Green stepped in to make the case for Stephen Curry.

On The Draymond Green Show, the Golden State Warriors veteran said, “JJ Redick said LeBron has the worst whistle of any star player I’ve ever seen. And the only thing I can say to that is, has he ever watched Steph Curry play? And is Steph Curry considered a star player? Cuz I got nothing but love for Bron, but if Steph Curry is a star player, which I think he is, no one gets a worse whistle than Steph Curry.”

Stephen Curry’s whistle debate keeps following him, and Warriors fans swear they have receipts. Defenders constantly bump, clutch, and shadow him off the ball, yet the play often rolls on. In 2024, an ESPN clip showed Curry absorbing contact on a drive with no call at all. Steve Kerr instantly exploded on the sideline and earned a technical while arguing the sequence. For Kerr, those grabs during top locking are clear fouls every single time.

Similarly, JJ Redick, too, reacted like Coach Kerr on Thursday, thus grabbing a T for himself. His point was simple: a top-seeded Thunder squad led by reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous Alexander should not need extra help from the whistle. “They’re hard enough to play,” he said. Redick added, “They’re hard to play, and you’ve got to be able to just call them. They foul. They do foul.”

Then he put forth his opinion, saying that LeBron James has the worst whistle of any NBA star. “The smaller guys, because they can be theatric, they typically draw more fouls. And the bigger players that are built like LeBron, it’s hard for them. They get clobbered, and he got clobbered again tonight, a bunch,” he added.

Now, LeBron James has spent years bulldozing through defenders, and oddly enough, that strength often works against him with referees. He absorbs heavy contact, stays balanced, and keeps charging ahead, so many collisions look routine instead of whistle-worthy. Meanwhile, several teammates and NBA voices have argued that his refusal to exaggerate contact makes things even tougher.

In fact, in 2023, the Lakers reportedly reached out to the NBA over multiple missed calls involving LeBron James in close games. Tracking data from that season also showed he drew fouls on drives at one of the lower rates among high-volume attackers. The picture remains somewhat the same in 2026. The 41-year-old had only 5 free throws across the first two games of the series against OKC.

The Oklahoma City Thunder dominated the free-throw battle on Thursday, going 26-21, which only added fuel to the growing frustration inside the Lakers camp. Yet, the Akron Hammer delivered 23 points, 2 rebounds, and 6 assists in 38 minutes, shooting 50% from the field, 25% from 3PT, and a perfect 100% from the line.

LeBron James shared why the OKC Thunder is a title contender

LeBron James kept his Game 2 comments short, and that silence said plenty. Any longer answer probably would have reopened the same frustration he carried back in early February, when the Los Angeles Lakers let a golden chance against Oklahoma City slip away. After that loss, reporters pressed James about the growing distance between the two teams. This time, however, he seemed far less interested in revisiting the Thunder conversation, especially with the series pressure already climbing fast.

“You want me to compare us to them?” he asked. “That’s a championship team right there. We’re not. … We can’t sustain energy and effort for 48 minutes, and they can. That’s why they won the championship.”

And then there is this major void left behind by Luka Doncic. Maybe his return is a distant dream now that even the Lakers have likely given up. “I don’t think the Lakers have been under the delusion that he is going to come back. I think they’ve gone into this series with Oklahoma City knowing he’s not going to be there, and he articulated that in a way that’s clear,” Brian Windhorst recently declared.

So, the argument around whistles has now wrapped itself around both LeBron James and Stephen Curry. And honestly, neither fan base is letting it go anytime soon. One keeps taking hits at the rim, the other keeps getting grabbed all over the floor, and the frustration around both stars keeps growing louder. Meanwhile, JJ Redick, Draymond Green, and Steve Kerr have all openly questioned the officiating. Still, beyond all the noise, the bigger problem for the Lakers remains obvious. Oklahoma City simply looks like the stronger team right now.