Lakers fans exploded online Saturday night after Doris Burke defended a controversial no-call involving Austin Reaves during Oklahoma City’s dominant 131-108 Game 3 victory. Reaves crossed up Isaiah Hartenstein on a drive to the rim and appeared to absorb contact above the chest area, but officials swallowed the whistle despite immediate frustration from the Lakers bench and crowd.

Burke, however, supported the officials during the ESPN broadcast. “I think that’s a good no-call. These refs have done a really good job.” The clip immediately spread across social media as frustrated Lakers fans accused Burke of consistently defending Oklahoma City’s physical style throughout the series.

What made the backlash especially interesting was Burke’s complicated history with Thunder fans earlier this season. At different points during the year, Oklahoma City supporters accused her of being overly critical of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and constantly focusing on foul baiting whenever he attacked the rim. However, during this Lakers series, many viewers now believe Burke has swung too far in the opposite direction by repeatedly defending OKC’s physical defense and the officiating surrounding it.

Similar criticism surfaced in February when Burke questioned whether Lu Dort deserved a flagrant 2 foul against Nikola Jokic during a heated Nuggets-Thunder matchup. Burke openly stated during the broadcast that she believed the play should have been ruled a flagrant 1 instead.

Burke’s comments during Game 3 reignited a broader online conversation about whether national broadcasters sometimes shape public perception of officiating through the way they frame physicality and contact. While some viewers defended Burke’s interpretation of the Reaves play as playoff basketball, Lakers fans largely viewed the moment as another example of ESPN’s lead analyst minimizing contact against Los Angeles throughout the series.

The criticism has not been limited to Lakers fans either. Earlier this season, Draymond Green publicly voiced frustration with Burke’s commentary during a Warriors-Spurs matchup involving Victor Wembanyama.

During that game, Green appeared frustrated after a non-call involving Wembanyama, and a fan comment criticizing Burke’s analysis eventually caught the veteran forward’s attention online.

“She will always ignore things happening to me and only half mention the good. And take shots when they are available. Been that way for a while…” Green replied.

Because of that history, many Lakers fans quickly connected Saturday’s Reaves no-call to a larger pattern they believe has existed for months.

Lakers Fans Flooded Social Media With Complaints About Burke’s Commentary

One netizen was simply so tired and simply wrote, “Can someone please cut Doris Burke mic off 🤐🤐🤐🤫.” Some fans thought her demotion from the NBA Finals team was because of constant such takes, which landed her in troubled waters with the fans. Another comment read, “‘Yea a good no call’ Doris Burke…you know basketball too well to spew that bs.” To showcase that tonight she really had a bias for the Thunder, some Lakers fans got the clip of SGA getting the call for minimal contact.

In the second quarter, the current MVP had possession, and Lakers Hachimura was guarding him. “That step pullback dribble into the mid range shakes Rui who’s got a size advantage,” stated Burke on the broadcast. But what she failed to notice was that the Lakers forward absorbed a contact. “Doris Burke said SGA shook Rui off but he pushed him off with his hands😆.” Since she was defending OKC again, another fan chimed in, “Anything for her to defend SGA. now she can say later that he didn’t foul bait for a good game.”

It was in the last game, where the Lakers, from the head coach to star player Austin Reaves, slammed the officiating so far. JJ Redick even had a problem “LeBron has the worst whistle of any star player I’ve ever seen. I mean get guy gets hit on the head more than any player I’ve seen on drives, and it rarely gets called.” His combined efforts from Game and Game from the charity stripe were just five attempts. Remembering this, a fan even questioned Doris Burke, if the contact against Bron was marginal or fair?

One frustrated fan summarized the mood online by writing, “She keeps saying it’s ‘marginal contact’ when they foul LeBron as he’s shooting.”

James attempted 19 field goals Saturday night but received only four free-throw attempts, all of which came during the fourth quarter after the game had largely slipped away from Los Angeles. Combined with Burke repeatedly praising the officiating throughout the broadcast, the blowout loss only intensified frustration among Lakers fans already convinced the series has not been called evenly.