The number of technical fouls being called in the NBA has seen a huge rise in the past few years. And the penalty for those technical fouls has increased too. A technical foul does not seem to be an issue when the situation calls for it. But when it is called for small minute reasons, it does end up stinging a little for fans, and obviously to players as well. 

The most recent head-scratching technical foul was called on Russell Westbrook in his last matchup. The Los Angeles Lakers faced the Sacramento Kings. And during the game, Russell Westbrook got called for a technical foul, over a celebration.

An unnecessary call on Russell Westbrook?

Russ penetrated the paint and finger-rolled the ball, going up against two Sacramento defenders and finishing by splitting between them in the middle. De’Aaron Fox and Kevin Huerter both jumped to challenge Westbrook but he managed to finish over them anyway.

As Westbrook was running back to defense, he stared down Kevin Huerter and did his iconic ‘rock the baby’ celebration. And that was all it took for the referees to call a technical foul on Russ. Westbrook was clearly not happy about the call. 

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And neither were the fans as they reacted to Russell Westbrook getting a tech. One fan tweeted, “Damn! Refs really don’t like seeing players have fun.” Another fan chimed in and commented, “Refs weak af.”

Here are some of the reactions from NBA Twitter:

History of questionable fouls by refs in the NBA

As important as technical fouls are to maintain the sanctity of the game, many fans believe that referees seem to have a free pass at calling techs and throwing players, and even coaches out of the game. There has been a history of some questionable foul calls over the years.

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One of the funniest and most out-of-the-blue technical fouls called in the history of the NBA was on San Antonio Spurs legend, Tim Duncan. Duncan had just checked out of the game and was sitting on the bench. Referee Joey Crawford ended up calling two technical fouls on Duncan for laughing while he was sitting on the bench. Which eventually led to his ejection from the game.  

What did you make of the call on Russell Westbrook? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.